Lost Time
by LoriLynn1
Summary: RanmaInuyasha Crossover-Ryoga presents Akane with a necklace that has a strange stone. It's supposed to put a love spell on her, but no one, not even Inuyasha and Kagome, who seek out the last Shikon shard, can even begin to contemplate the complexity.
1. Prologue Ryoga's present for Akane

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. . . though I really wish I did. . .  
  
A/N: Hey, everyone! This is my first cross over ever, and what better way to do it than to include my two favorite animes, Inuyasha and Ranma ½? I have prologue through chapter 3 so far, and hopefully I'll have more very soon.  
  
Please read and review!!  
  
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Lost Time Prologue  
  
Yellow grass crunched beneath Ryoga Hibiki's feet as he trudged on through the October morning. His legs ached, and his head was heavy, yet he continued on his trek none the less. He had to be getting close to Nermina, the district where Akane Tendo lived, by now. He could swear that he had just passed a sign that stated he was nearing Osaka. That was a big town, and big towns meant districts!  
  
Just thinking of her made him smile, but as soon as he did, he was also reminded of Akane's fiancé. . . Ryoga's one true rival, Ranma Saotome.  
  
The bastard. He didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Akane.  
  
Before he knew it, Ryoga had lost track of his steps, and soon, he stood at the edge of a clearing. Rising out of the center of the clearing was a medium sized cabin, and he could just make out a few hot springs on the other side. On the sign by the door, it read, 'Kachi Inn," in fancy script.  
  
If Ryoga had had enough energy, he would have continued on, but instead, he pulled out all the money he had; two thousand yen. Before he could make a decision, the front door flew open, and a small man with white hair and sparkling eyes stepped out to wave at him.  
  
"Welcome, traveler!" he called to Ryoga, a huge smile plastered across his ancient face. "Come inside and rest!"  
  
Ryoga put the money back into his pocket and followed the man inside. "Are you Kachi?" he wanted to know as the two of them sat down in a cozy living room area.  
  
"No," the man replied. "Kachi was the nickname I gave to my late wife."  
  
Ryoga looked down at his lap. "Sorry," he muttered. "It must be lonely in the woods. . . alone and all. You must-" but he caught something sparkling out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. There, sitting on a table on the other side of the room was a slim, pink stone that seemed to almost be glowing from within.  
  
"Ah," the main said, "I see you've noticed the jewel. I bet you have someone special in your life who would love a piece of jewelry such as that jewel."  
  
"It's for sale?"  
  
"Well, not really. It used to belong to my wife. She only passed on last year, and the jewel has been sitting there ever since. If she can't have it, then I want you to give it to the one you love." He paused as the two of them stared at the jewel. "You remind me of myself as a boy."  
  
Ryoga stood up and went over to the table, his eyes fixed on the pink stone that dangled from a string of tiny pearls.  
  
"Isn't it stunning?"  
  
Ryoga jumped. He hadn't realized that the man had crept up from behind him. He gulped, nodding.  
  
"You have someone special to give it to?"  
  
Ryoga nodded again, thinking of Akane. This could be his one chance to declare his love for the raven haired girl. He picked up the necklace and held it up before his eyes. The stone seemed to turn an even paler shade of pink as it spun around on the pearls. "How much are you willing to sell it for?"  
  
"For you?" the man grinned. "No charge. Happiness is priceless."  
  
"Really? Are you sure?"  
  
"Without a doubt. But there's something you should know about that jewel."  
  
Ryoga blinked at him.  
  
"It has some sort of charm on it," the man continued. "What kind, I'm not sure, but I'll tell you one thing. The girl who wears this necklace will not be able to take it off. She will not want to take it off. . . for whenever she gazes upon it, she will think of you, and you alone."  
  
"What? How do you know this?" Ryoga looked down at the stone. It wasn't quite smooth. In fact, its edges were jagged, and he wondered if it would even be safe to wear.  
  
"Kachi," the man replied. "She wore it most of her life. And she never thought of another man. Not once."  
  
Ryoga's eyes widened. Was this true? If he gave Akane the necklace, and she put it on, would she want to marry him instead of Ranma?  
  
*****  
  
The old man watched as the boy made his way out of the clearing, oddly enough, in the same direction he'd come from, and it pained him to see the jewel walking away from his grasp. But for what it was worth, he was also relieved to see it gone. It was too easy to carry mixed emotions about such a powerful object.  
  
The charm that he'd placed on the necklace long ago, when he had first arrived in this time, had indeed been to keep a woman in his life; she had never even suspected anything about his origins.  
  
It had been so long since he'd seen the demon that had trusted him to protect the jewel that he didn't even care anymore. That demon never carried through on his promise, and now, the old man decided, it was time to break the one that he had made.  
  
The shard of the Shikon No Tama no longer did him any good, and it was time to move on. 


	2. Chapter 1 Is that how you really feel?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. . . though I really wish I did. . .  
  
A/N: I decided to post chapter 1 along with the prologue. . . simply because of the prologue's length. Chapter 2 coming soon!!!  
  
Please read and review!!  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 1  
  
Ranma Saotome pounded his fist against Akane's bedroom door. "C'mon, Akane, open up. I said I was sorry, already!"  
  
No answer.  
  
He balled his fists as he glared at the closed door. Could that girl be any more stubborn? Sure, he hadn't said the nicest things after she'd made tonight's dinner, but wasn't his apology worth anything?  
  
"It really wasn't that bad," he said to the door. "Actually, I think you might be improving!"  
  
"Go away, Ranma!"  
  
"Fine!" Ranma screamed. "But don't be calling me when you need me!"  
  
"I won't!"  
  
"GOOD!"  
  
He spun around on his feet and stomped down the hallway to his room. If she would just learn how to cook properly, then there would be a problem. Who else mixed up vinegar and honey? He stuck out his tongue as he thought about the horrible taste.  
  
"This is her fault, not mine," he muttered as he entered the bedroom and slammed the door behind himself.  
  
*****  
  
"I made it!" Ryoga said in awe at himself. He stood at the front of the Tendo house, the glowing jewel clutched in the palm of his hand. He had no idea how he'd gotten there, but he had, and that was all that mattered.  
  
"Akane-san," he said under his breath, "this time you will know the truth!"  
  
*****  
  
Akane Tendo turned the page on her cookbook. Every time she tried to cook something for Ranma, it never turned out. And not once was he ever nice to her about it. Would it be so hard for him to smile and pretend that it was good?  
  
She sighed. Apparently, it was.  
  
"Akane!" her sister's voice called from downstairs. "You have a visitor!"  
  
"Coming, Kasumi!" she called back as she shoved the cookbooks underneath her bed. If Ranma caught sight of them, he'd probably burn them or something.  
  
Just in case Ranma was still outside her door, she opened it slowly, ready to clobber him. What a pervert, sitting outside a girl's bedroom. She wasn't going to stand for it. But when she peered out into the hallway, he was nowhere to be seen, and she sighed.  
  
"Stupid Ranma."  
  
She flew down the stairs and into the living area. Standing at the entry way was none other than Ryoga, and his face was bright red.  
  
*****  
  
"Akane-san," Ryoga said, looking down at his feet. "I. . . I've returned from my trip."  
  
"I see that, Ryoga-kun!"  
  
Ryoga grinned at her as Kasumi gave them both a smile, and then left the room. 'Good,' Ryoga thought. 'We're alone. This is the perfect time to give her the necklace!' He turned and closed the front door behind himself. "Ah. . . Akane-san?"  
  
"What's wrong?" Akane wanted to know.  
  
Ryoga's eyes widened as she stepped closer and closer to him. "I, uh. . . I brought you a present!"  
  
"A present?" she said, clasping her hands together. "For me? What is it?"  
  
"Here!" He thrust out the necklace until it dangled in front of her face. "It's. . . well, it's a necklace. I thought of you when I saw it, and just had to bring it back for you." That wasn't exactly a lie, after all.  
  
"Ryoga-kun!" Akane exclaimed as she took the necklace from him and stared at the pink stone, which now seemed to be glowing more than ever before. "It's so pretty! Thank you, Ryoga-kun."  
  
Ryoga grinned, feeling accomplished. "Why don't you put it on?"  
  
But before Akane had a chance to even think about putting the necklace on, a hand reached out from behind her and swiped it from her grasp.  
  
"What exactly is this?" Ranma wanted to know as he held the stone up before his eyes. "And why is it glowing like that?"  
  
"Ranma, give it back!" Akane demanded. She tried to reach for it, but Ranma held it up high. Akane jumped. "Ryoga-kun gave that to me as a present! It's not yours!"  
  
Ranma apparently wasn't listening to her. "I just wanted to know what it was. It looks kinda weird. Are you sure this thing isn't going to poke you? I mean, it's pretty sharp looking."  
  
Ryoga gazed at the stone, its light reflecting from Ranma's blue eyes. "Give it back to her," he said through clenched teeth. "I didn't bring it all the way back here so you could get your dirty fingerprints all over it!"  
  
Ranma's eyes went from the stone and fell directly on Ryoga. "I'll give it back to her," he said. "When you tell me what it is."  
  
"It's a necklace!" Ryoga growled. "What does it look like?"  
  
Akane was trying to pull herself up on Ranma's arm to reach the necklace. Ranma took the necklace in his other hand, grinning at her. "You moron," he said. "What if there's some kind of love potion in this rock? Do you want to spend the rest of your life wandering after Ryoga?" He didn't wait for her to respond. "I didn't think so."  
  
Akane's face went from pink to red. "You're the moron, Ranma," she said, still trying to reach the pendant. "Why would Ryoga give me a love potion? We're only friends!"  
  
Ryoga felt like something had punctured his lungs, and he tried to take in a deep breath. It stung like hell. Friends? Friends?! He took a courageous step forward and grabbed the collar of Ranma's shirt. "If you don't give her that necklace right now, I'm going to beat the shit out of you, Ranma!"  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Ranma said, his eyes glaring right into Ryoga. "I'd like to see you try."  
  
"I've been training while I was away," Ryoga told him. "I'm about ten times stronger than before."  
  
"Is that supposed to scare me, Ryoga?" Ranma said as he grinned at Ryoga. "I haven't had a good fight in a long time, and you have no idea how excited I am about pounding you into the ground."  
  
Ryoga watched as Ranma chuckled. The overconfident moron thought he would still be stronger.  
  
"This is gonna be fun," Ranma said as he shoved the necklace into Akane's hand and then balled his fists up, prepared to knock one into Ryoga.  
  
"Uh, Ranma. . . maybe you should-"  
  
"Shut up, Ryoga, and fight. Or are you too scared?"  
  
"But, Ranma. . ."  
  
"Are you gonna fight, or what!?"  
  
Behind Ranma, Akane was holding the necklace up like she was going to put it on over her head. The dope had obviously been too distracted by the aspect of a fight to notice that he'd practically handed the necklace to Akane.  
  
"RANMA!" Ryoga yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Turn around, you idiot!"  
  
Ranma spun around. His eyes widened when he realized that Akane had the necklace. "Hey!" he cried, reaching over in her direction. "That wasn't fair!"  
  
Akane pushed him away with one hand, and put the necklace over her head with the other. Once it rested on her skin, the pink stone created an aura of white light that was so blinding that both Ranma and Ryoga had to squeeze their eyes shut until it had dimmed.  
  
When Ryoga opened his eyes, Akane was staring directly at him. . . in admiration. "Akane-san," he mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up. Could the charm that the old man spoke of actually be working?  
  
"Oh, Ryoga-kun!" she said as she threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.  
  
Over Akane's shoulder, Ryoga saw the look on Ranma's face, and it wasn't a pretty sight. His eyes were wide, and his face was so pale that Ryoga thought that maybe someone should check his pulse to make sure he was still alive.  
  
Just then, Akane let go of Ryoga and turned to face Ranma. She stuck out her tongue. "Ha, Ranma! I got you!"  
  
Ranma's pale face turned red in an instant. Ryoga thought his rival might explode. Then, he suddenly felt sick. The charm hadn't worked, and he was back to square one.  
  
"I told you there was no love potion, you idiot," Akane said as she fingered the stone around her neck. "It's just a really pretty necklace. Thank you, Ryoga-kun."  
  
Just as she said those words, her eyes slowly went up from the necklace and landed on Ranma's face. "Ranma. . ." she said, her voice nearly a whisper. "I. . . I. . . I can't believe you didn't like my dinner! Why do you have to be so mean?! I HATE YOU!"  
  
Both Ryoga and Ranma watched as she tore out of the room and flew up the stairs.  
  
"What the hell?" Ranma mumbled, his eyes staring at where she had disappeared. "That was a little random."  
  
Ryoga gulped. Something wasn't right. Could it have anything to do with the necklace?  
  
Suddenly, Ranma took off after her. "Akane!" he yelled as he ran up the stairs. "Akane, wait up!"  
  
*****  
  
In the next district over, Kagome Higurashi sat in a crowded theater watching the first movie that she'd had time to see all year. She was with a group from school, and all of them were stuffing popcorn and candy into their mouths as the movie flickered on from the big screen at the end of the room.  
  
"Ooo!" Yuri, Kagome's friend, exclaimed in a whisper. "The best part is coming up! Wait till you see what the guy does before he goes into her room!"  
  
Kagome sighed. It was no fun going to the movies with someone who had seen the flick before and felt compelled to tell you everything before it happened.  
  
Just as the actor on screen was looking suspiciously down either ends of the hallway in the scene, Kagome sensed a piercing white light, and she stood up so quickly, that her popcorn fell from her lap and spilled all over the floor. The whole theater was looking right at her.  
  
"Kagome!" her friends gasped.  
  
But Kagome barely heard them. She stared straight ahead, thinking of the white light. She knew exactly what the image meant; it was another Shikon shard. . . the last one, as a matter of fact. Naraku had acquired most of the other shattered pieces. . . all except two. One, Kagome kept safe in her pocket while the other's whereabouts remained unknown. Until now, that is.  
  
Silently, she turned toward the exit. Her friends tried to pull her back down to her seat, but she resisted. "I'm sorry, guys, I gotta go. I'll explain later."  
  
As she climbed over their feet, she heard someone mumble, "What do you think is wrong with her this time?" but Kagome didn't even care. All that mattered was finding Inuyasha and getting the shard back before Naraku somehow got his filthy hands on it first. 


	3. Chapter 2 Inuyasha arrives to collect

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. . . though I really wish I did. . .  
  
A/N: First off, I want to thank everyone for their reviews. I'm taking this story very seriously and working my hardest to make it it's best, so they really do mean a ton to me. ( and EEK! Last time I forgot to thank my Beta, Wingsong. She helped me work out some plot points and pointed out a few instances where I had them OOC. Go read her stories, they're AWESOME! *** E2K - I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Akane doesn't exactly hate Ranma. . . but her feelings toward him have changed. Read on!  
  
L-Chan - You're right. There is something going on that I haven't talked about yet regarding the jewel shard and how it got into that old man's hands. Thank you for your review!  
  
fukaimori-inu - Thank you! I'm glad you like the story!  
  
Terpischore the Whirler - Thank you! If you can't tell, my favorite thing to write is dialogue, meaning that character interaction is a big deal to me. About length, the chapters do get longer as they go along. . . I admit that the prologue was short, but the rest of the chapters WILL be longer! (  
  
CaraBera - Hehe. . . I'm glad you like the story so much! I promise to keep updating! *** Please read and review!!  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 2  
  
In Feudal Japan, five hundred years before, Inuyasha sat on the grass with his back to the time well. He glanced back at it, and then quickly looked away. Shouldn't she be back by now? It was getting late, and if she was still home at this hour, then she probably wouldn't be back until morning.  
  
It was dark, Inuyasha thought as he looked up at the starry sky. In two nights time, he would have to find a secure place to hide, but he wasn't so worried about that just then. What he hated was waiting around for Kagome to show up.  
  
Only one shard of the Shikon jewel was missing, and if Kagome knew what was good for her, she'd hurry up and come through the well so they could finish their search. Inuyasha shuddered to think of what would happen if Naraku happened to find it before they did.  
  
Fed up with almost everything, Inuyasha stood on his feet and stomped over to the well. He looked down to the black bottom, glaring down into the nothingness. He was going to have to go and bring her back, and that was all there was to it.  
  
Without another thought, he jumped.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma flinched as Akane slammed the door on his nose.  
  
"This is getting really stupid," he muttered as, for the second time that evening, he pounded on his fiancé's door. "Akane!" he yelled. "I'm really, really sorry that I said those things about your cooking. It really wasn't that bad, I swear!" He was about to pound again when the door swung open, and Akane stood there, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Her fingers were wrapped around the pink stone.  
  
"Really?" she said as one of the tears made its way down her cheek.  
  
"Aw, Akane, don't cry. I swear I didn't mean it."  
  
"I'm not crying," she insisted, an obvious lie.  
  
"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up in defense. "So, you're not. Just know that I'm really sorry, okay?"  
  
"Oh, Ranma," she sighed and threw her arms around his neck. "Next time I'll try even harder to make you a perfect dinner!"  
  
Ranma felt his cheeks heat up significantly and resigned to patting her back. He was confused. Why was Akane acting so weird?  
  
"And thank you for the necklace, Ranma."  
  
Ranma pushed her away and grabbed her arms so he could look at her. "What did you just say?"  
  
"I thanked you for the necklace," Akane said, her eyes blinking back up at him.  
  
"But, Akane. . . I didn't give it to you. Ryoga did. Remember?"  
  
Akane looked at him, still blinking, and Ranma was suddenly worried. After all, Ryoga had just given it to her moments ago.  
  
"Oh," she said. "I guess you're right." But then she threw her arms back around him. "Thank you, Ranma," she whispered in his ear.  
  
Ranma tried to push her away, but she held him too tightly. He gave up. "What are you thanking me for now?"  
  
This time, Akane was the one who pulled away, but only a little until they were looking right into each others eyes. "I'm not sure," she admitted.  
  
When her face started getting closer to his, Ranma jumped away. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.  
  
Now, Akane looked even more confused. And what was worse was the fact that she seemed embarrassed, too. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight," she muttered quickly and slammed the door in Ranma's face.  
  
"What the hell. . ." he mumbled as he stared at the closed door. Something wasn't right. He was tempted to open her door and ask her questions about her behavior, but he still had a bruise on his arm from the last time, and honestly, when Akane was angry, Ranma usually ended up at Dr. Tofu's, or taking a scenic aerial tour over downtown Tokyo.  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha stood outside the time well and looked cautiously around. Kagome's house was still lit up. . . only he couldn't pick up her scent anywhere.  
  
That was never a good sign.  
  
He shoved a baseball cap over his ears and began to make his way outside the property. She'd probably yell at him about it later, but this was too important to ignore. Besides, it was her own fault for not coming back sooner when she knew perfectly well that the last Shikon shard was almost in their reach.  
  
Two blocks away from Kagome's house, Inuyasha began to pick up a familiar scent. He followed it around the block and down the street. He was just about to turn the corner when someone flew out from behind a large wooden fence and ran right into him. He grabbed the girl's arms and held her out at arms length. The girl's hands immediately grabbed onto his sleeves.  
  
"Kagome?" he said. "Why are you running?  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, almost out of breath. "It's here! I sensed it!"  
  
He tilted his head at her. "What's here?"  
  
"The last Shikon shard! I was coming to find you so we could bring it back. Are you ready?" she wanted to know as she pulled him back in the direction that she had come from.  
  
Inuyasha grinned at her. "I'm so ready slaughter that bastard, you wouldn't believe."  
  
*****  
  
Akane sat up in bed and looked around. She thought she had heard something, but now it was completely quiet. She wondered if Ranma had been trying to break in her room to apologize at all hours of the night.  
  
Wait a second. . . hadn't he already said he was sorry? She couldn't remember.  
  
Without another thought, she flopped back down on her bed. But the second she hit the pillows, the jewel around her neck poked into her skin, and she had to stop herself from screaming. She pulled the stone away from her neck, noticing the small drop of blood where it had punctured her skin.  
  
"Ouch," she mumbled, wiping the blood away with the tip of her finger. "Maybe I should take you off."  
  
But when she tried to lift the necklace over her head, the tiny pearls lit up in a bright blue light and stayed exactly where they had been around her neck. Akane pulled and pulled, but the pearls would not move an inch.  
  
"What's with this thing?"  
  
She thought about getting Ranma to take a look at it, but he was probably sleeping soundly, and she knew he wouldn't want to be bothered. Besides, the muscles in her arm hurt from trying to remove the necklace. . . and her eyes were so heavy. . .  
  
*****  
  
"I smell human blood."  
  
"Oh, no. . ." Kagome said as she chased Inuyasha down the sidewalks of Nermina. "Do you think Naraku found the shard before we did?"  
  
"If he did, then I'll just take it from him," Inuyasha growled.  
  
Easier said than done, Kagome thought. Naraku had most of the shards already, and it was taking them from him that had always been one of their bigger problems.  
  
A glint of light caught Kagome off guard, and she jumped. "That way!" she told Inuyasha as she raced past him and turned left at the corner. "We're almost there!"  
  
The two of them raced down the block and came to a house that was enclosed by a white brick wall. They stared at it for a moment until Inuyasha pulled Kagome on his back and jumped the wall in one bound.  
  
"Up there!" she hissed at him.  
  
He looked up to where she was pointing; a small balcony on the second floor. "Hold on tight," he said back to her, and they flew up, landing safely on the balcony. Kagome crawled off of Inuyasha's back, and the two of them squatted down below the window. Kagome peeked inside to see a girl with black hair sleeping in a bed.  
  
"I'm going in," he told her, and made a move to stand up, but she put her hand on the top of his cap and pushed him back down.  
  
"You're not going anywhere. There's a girl in there! If she sees you, and screams. . ."  
  
His amber eyes glowed in defiance. "I can do whatever I want," he said, shaking her hands away.  
  
"No, you can't," she said. "You keep forgetting that people from my time aren't used to seeing weird half demons with dog ears."  
  
"Do you think I care?"  
  
"Just stay here and be quiet. I'll go get the shard and be right back. I'll call for you if I need you."  
  
"Fine," he agreed. "But hurry up. I'm getting impatient."  
  
"You're always impatient."  
  
He didn't answer her.  
  
She went to the window and pulled it open slowly, being as careful as she could not to make any sudden noises that might wake the girl.  
  
"Um, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome looked down at Inuyasha, who looked away the second their eyes met. "What?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
She rolled her eyes at him.  
  
Once she had opened the window wide enough, Inuyasha helped her slip through. She landed safely and quietly on the other side, and held her finger to her lips for Inuyasha's sake. He only rolled his eyes and squatted back down to the floor of the balcony. She turned around, noticing how dark the room was. The only light was the small amount of moonlight that had followed her inside, and the soft glow of the Shikon shard that hung from the girl's neck.  
  
This wasn't going to be easy, she thought as she crept toward the bed.  
  
"Hey!" came a low voice from the window sill, and Kagome spun around.  
  
"Get back outside!" she hissed. "You'll wake her up!"  
  
*****  
  
"It won't come OFF!"  
  
"Be quiet!"  
  
Akane opened her eyes open and found herself looking into a pair of big yellow ones and a ton of silver hair. A boy was trying to pull the necklace away from her neck! Her reflexes took over, and she hit the boy square in the nose, watching as he took a dive to the floor. There was a girl standing at the foot of her bed with a terrified expression on her face.  
  
Akane screamed.  
  
It wasn't more than three seconds later that the bedroom door burst open and Ranma, wearing a white t-shirt and boxers, came flying into the room. "Akane!" he breathed, sliding to a stop on the wood floor. "What's-" but Ranma didn't finish. His eyes met Akane's for a fraction of a second, and then drifted to the boy who was rising up from the floor with his hand over his nose. "What the hell are you?" Ranma asked. "And what are you doing in Akane's room?"  
  
"I'm so sorry!" the girl said as she made a move to stand in front of the boy. "We didn't mean to scare you, it's just that. . . well, we really need that." She pointed to Akane.  
  
"Her name is Akane!" Ranma growled.  
  
"Not the girl," the other boy growled back. "The shard on her neck! You can keep the girl!"  
  
Akane jumped out of bed and ran to stand behind Ranma. "You can't have it!" she cried. "Ranma gave me this necklace and-"  
  
"I did NOT give it to you! Ryoga did!" Ranma turned his head to look at her. "Did you get knocked in the head or something?"  
  
She held onto the back of his t-shirt. "Just make them leave, Ranma!"  
  
The boy on the other side of the room stepped away from the girl and began making his way closer to Ranma and Akane. They walked backwards until Akane's back was pressed into the door.  
  
The boy took off his hat and threw it to the floor, revealing two white ears at the top of his head. "We're not leaving without the shard," he said through clenched teeth. "So hand it over before anyone gets hurt."  
  
"What the hell are you?" Ranma demanded as he backed up even further, pressing Akane into the door and keeping himself between her and apparent danger.  
  
"It doesn't matter," the boy sneered, grabbing Ranma's collar and pulling him closer. "Give me the shard, and you'll never see me again."  
  
Ranma hit his hand away. "Like hell," he said. "Who says it's yours, anyway? Ryoga gave it to Akane. It's hers."  
  
The boy closed his eyes and took a step back. "Look," he said, opening them again and blinking at the couple. "I don't know who this Ryoga guy is, but it doesn't matter. If you don't give me the shard right now, I'll-"  
  
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Nabiki had to jump back to keep Ranma and her younger sister from falling over on her. "If you wanted to have 'fun' with your fiancé, go ahead," she said as she pushed them back into the room. Once inside, her gaze met that of the two intruders. "But the next time you disturb my sleep with another kidnapping, you both owe me at LEAST two photo shoots."  
  
Ranma visibly gulped.  
  
Akane could hear the rest of the family pounding down the hallway. Nabiki turned to them and put up her hands. "Don't worry, everyone. It's just another kidnapping, but Ranma's got it under control."  
  
The door slammed shut, leaving Akane and her guests in silence. The girl and the boy exchanged confused glances.  
  
"Another kidnapping?" the boy said, raising an eyebrow. "This isn't the first?"  
  
Akane stared at him.  
  
"Not that we're kidnapping you, or anything. . ." the girl said hurriedly.  
  
"Never mind," the boy interjected. "Just give up the shard before someone gets hurt."  
  
"They'll never give it to you if you ask for it like that!" her voice rose. "You're so rude, Inuyasha!"  
  
"Shh!" Ranma pleaded. "If we wake Nabiki up again. . ."  
  
"Fine," Inuyasha said, ignoring Ranma and folding his arms as he turned his nose in the air. "If you think you can get it from them, then you try!"  
  
"I will," she said, and then looked back at Ranma and Akane. "Hi, guys. . ." she smiled. "My name is Kagome, and this is Inuyasha. He seems kinda mean, but he's really not. . . well, not all the time, anyway. We don't really have time to explain to you why we need that shard around your neck, but it's really important. Do you think we could have it? Please?"  
  
Akane stared at Kagome from around Ranma's shoulder. "But Ranma gave it to me," she told her.  
  
"I did not!" Ranma hissed at her  
  
"Yes, you did! Don't you remember?"  
  
Ranma turned his head, looking at her as though she was crazy, and that's when it happened; the tears came to her eyes, and she buried her face into his shirt.  
  
"Stop crying!" Ranma demanded as he turned around and grabbed her arms. "This is getting really sickening, Akane. Why are you so emotional all of a sudden?"  
  
"I. . . I'm sorry," she told him as she wiped her tears. "But you don't have to yell at me!"  
  
"Aw, jeez, Akane, I'm sorry. Just stop crying. . . please!" Ranma pleaded, but when Akane couldn't stop sobbing, he shoved her back behind himself and looked back toward Inuyasha.  
  
"Leave," he snarled. "Before I kick you out myself."  
  
Inuyasha almost looked bored. "You wanna fight?"  
  
"Of course I wanna fight!" Ranma turned to Akane. "Go stand over there while I kick this guy to the curb," he said, and Akane went to stand by Kagome  
  
"You overconfident bastard," Inuyasha chuckled. "Let's see what you got."  
  
Ranma straightened up. "That's my line!"  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha didn't want to hurt the human boy, but if he didn't get a hold of that last Shikon shard, then they all would most likely end up dead anyway. He reached down for his sword, Tetsusaiga, and pulled it from its sheath. "You're asking for it, pal," he said, raising the huge white fang above his head.  
  
Ranma's grin grew larger, and he placed his palms opposite of each other. A yellow orb, the size of a basketball, appeared out of nowhere and lit up the room along with Tetsusaiga's white glow.  
  
"Stop!" Kagome and Akane called out as they jumped between the two boys. "You'll destroy the house!"  
  
Inuyasha stared between their heads at the yellow orb that quickly diminished until it popped into back into nothing. He was only slightly curious about how a normal human could conjure up something so unnatural. "Get out of the way!" he growled at the girls. "This jerk is keeping us from the shard, you idiot!"  
  
"You can't just fight him here, Inuyasha," Kagome told him as she grabbed his wrist and pulled it and the sword down below his head.  
  
"Why not!?"  
  
"Because this isn't your house!"  
  
"Who cares!?"  
  
"ME!" Kagome yelled. "Now, put Tetsusaiga away!"  
  
"Be quiet!" Ranma hissed. "There are already enough pictures of me floating around school!"  
  
Inuyasha, annoyed and infuriated, stuffed Tetsusaiga back into its sheath. "Look, Kagome," he growled. "If you don't want me to do this my way, then get the shard from them right now! This is your last chance!"  
  
Kagome looked down her nose at him. "Don't boss me around," she said before turning to Ranma and Akane. "C'mon, you two. . . can't you see that he's serious here? You have to give us the shard, or Inuyasha's gonna lose it!"  
  
Inuyasha turned his back on them. "Hmph!" he grunted.  
  
"Sometimes I think he's a little crazy. . ."  
  
Inuyasha spun around. "Hey!"  
  
Ranma was still staring at Tetsusaiga's handle, probably wondering what kind of sword it was. "Okay," he said. "You can have the stupid necklace. Akane, take it off." 


	4. Chapter 3 Down the well we go

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. . . though I really wish I did. . .  
  
A/N: Again, thank you to all the reviewers. You guys made my day when I saw your notes! This is the last chapter that I had pre-written before I started posting the story. I'm currently about halfway through Chapter four and hope to finish it soon so I can post it here for all of you to read. Thank you again!  
  
***  
  
Luckylady1818, The Wielder of the Glaive, Kirei-CKSM - I'm glad you like the story so far! Thanks for your compliments, and keep reading!  
  
elisteran - Thank you for your review. I plan to heighten the conflicts from here on out. . . but I had to get them out of Akane's house so Inuyasha didn't destroy the place! . . .not to mention the fact that if they woke Nabiki up again, all hell would break loose.  
  
E2K - I'm not too great at researching. . . I started this awhile back, I'm not sure when, but when I did, I didn't know about the last shard. I've seen up to 136, and I still don't know where this shard is. Did I miss something? As for your questions about Akane's necklace, those will be answered in later chapters.   
  
Nikka - Akane is OOC for a reason. The pearls, bonded with the Shikon shard have a sort of love spell over her. It will become more clear as the story continues. Thanks for your review!!  
  
***  
  
Please read and review!!  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 3  
  
Ranma watched as Akane clutched the necklace in her hand. "No! I won't give it to them!" she insisted, glaring at Ranma. Suddenly, her face fell. "Does this mean you don't love me?"  
  
Ranma jumped back. "What!? Who said I loved you!?"  
  
"You did! When you gave me the necklace!"  
  
"You're making stuff up! I never told you that, and for the last time, I did NOT give you that stupid necklace!"  
  
Akane burst into tears again and turned away from him. "I hate you, Ranma!" she cried. "I'll never speak to you again!"  
  
By then, Ranma knew there had to be something wrong with her, because this wasn't the Akane he knew. That Akane would have hit him in the head if he had even implied that he loved her. . . which he most certainly did not. With nothing else to do, Ranma grabbed the pearls from her neck and tried to pull them off. A blinding blue light lit up the whole room, and the necklace went back down against Akane's skin.  
  
Ranma, Inuyasha and Kagome looked at the necklace for another moment. The two boys exchanged glares, and then, without another thought, dove for Akane's neck, trying to remove the pearls.  
  
Knocked to the floor, Akane swung up and hit them both in their jaws, sending them flying to the floor beside her. "Let go of me!" she cried. "You perverts!"  
  
Ranma sat on the floor, rubbing his jaw as he stared at the necklace. "It. . . it won't come off," he said, his voice monotone. "But it's just a necklace!"  
  
Inuyasha, who sat on the other side of Akane, glared at him. "You're wrong," he said. "That isn't an ordinary necklace. It's held together with a shard from the Shikon jewel, and whoever made it, put some sort of weird spell on it."  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed as she crouched down next to him. "That's just like your-"  
  
"Shut up, woman," Inuyasha muttered, putting his hand over the purple beads that hung around his neck. "And no, you're wrong, too. This girl's necklace is bonded with the power of the Shikon shard. . . which is much more powerful than one of your pitiful commands."  
  
"What are you saying?" Akane demanded as she scooted closer to Ranma. "That I'm going to have to wear this necklace forever?"  
  
"No," Inuyasha said, his amber eyes drilling into Akane's brown ones. "Because if it's the last thing I do, I will have the shard that's around your neck."  
  
Ranma put his arm around Akane. "Like hell," he said. "I know what you're thinking, you monster."  
  
"Actually," Kagome interjected. "He's a demon."  
  
Inuyasha's face turned red. "I told you to shut up!"  
  
"I'm sorry," she said. "I mean half demon."  
  
He turned to growl at her. "I don't know why I even bother to bring you along with me!"  
  
"Because if you didn't, you wouldn't find any shards," she reminded him.  
  
"Ha! Lot of good that does me! Naraku's got most of the shards, anyway! You practically handed them to him on a silver platter!"  
  
Kagome's face turned a bright shade of red, and she balled her fists up tightly. "Inuyasha. . ." she said.  
  
Inuyasha cringed.  
  
"SIT!"  
  
He fell to the ground with a thud, his face pressed firmly to the wood paneling. "Man. . ." he groaned. "When are you gonna quit doing that!?"  
  
Kagome folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. "When you quit acting like a jerk!" she said.  
  
Ranma took it that that would never happen, and he guessed that Inuyasha did, too, because the boy rose up from the floor and glared down at her.  
  
"Damn you, woman!" he said through clenched teeth.  
  
It was quiet for a moment while Kagome ignored Inuyasha, and Akane and Ranma stared at them. This wasn't the most fruitful situation that one could be in. Ranma's eyes widened when he realized just how tightly he held Akane in his arms. How did that happen?  
  
"There's nothing we can do," Inuyasha decided as he sank back to the floor. "We'll have to take the girl with us and keep her until we can get the rest of the jewel from Naraku."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Ranma said, panic lacing his voice. "And then what?"  
  
Inuyasha only stared at him.  
  
"No way," Ranma went on. "You're not taking Akane anywhere!"  
  
"Look, punk," Inuyasha spoke up. "It's either we take her now, or Naraku comes for her later."  
  
"Who is this Naraku guy you keep talking about?" Akane wanted to know.  
  
"You don't want to meet him, trust me," Kagome assured her. "He's already got most of the Shikon shards, and every day he becomes even more powerful."  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha said. "I'll slaughter him."  
  
To Ranma, it didn't look as though he had a choice in the matter. He would have to let them take Akane. . . that is, if they were telling the truth. This Shikon jewel obviously held a ton of power, and there was no question that that was why they wanted the shard that hung from Akane's neck. . . but this Naraku character. . . did he really exist? If Ranma kicked these clowns out of the house, would Naraku show up for the jewel tomorrow? He didn't know if he could take that chance.  
  
Sadly, Ranma lowered his eyes. "Where would you be taking her?"  
  
Both Inuyasha and Kagome blinked at him.  
  
"Back through the well," Inuyasha explained, "to my time."  
  
Ranma suddenly felt even more doubtful. "Your TIME?" he questioned. "And when exactly is that?"  
  
"Feudal Japan. . . five hundred years ago," Kagome said. "There's a well by my house that takes us there."  
  
Akane looked up at Ranma. "Stranger things have happened," she whispered.  
  
Ranma gulped. She was right. Stranger things HAD happened. But five hundred years? Wasn't that a bit extreme? That weird guy with the ears might be running some sort of scam, kidnapping girls and-  
  
"Okay," he said. "You can take Akane."  
  
"What!?" Akane wailed as she reached up and grabbed Ranma's collar. "You're just gonna let them take me!?"  
  
"No!" Ranma cried, pushing her away. "Because I'm coming with!" That is, if this so called time well even existed. If not, he'd just break Inuyasha's stupid sword and pound him into the ground with it.  
  
"No way," Inuyasha said, his tone firm. "There's no way in hell I'm babysitting yet another human."  
  
"Babysit!?" Ranma exploded. He let go of Akane and leaned forward to grab Inuyasha by the collar. "Are you kidding me? I can take care of Akane, and I can most definitely take care of myself!"  
  
Inuyasha's gaze was unchanging. "You know nothing about my time, so why don't you just shut your big mouth before you regret anything you say."  
  
Ranma shoved the other boy away and sat back down. "I don't care what you say," he said through clenched teeth as he folded his arms across his chest. "You're not taking Akane unless I go with her.  
  
Kagome nudged Inuyasha. "You're forgetting about the well," she said. "What if neither of them can get through?"  
  
Inuyasha closed his eyes. "I don't want to think about that now," he muttered. "We're getting that shard and we're completing the Shikon jewel!" He stood up, gazing down at Ranma and Akane. "Pack your bags, and let's go," he said to Ranma. "Kagome, you stay here with Akane while she gets her things together. I'm not taking any chances." He grabbed Ranma by his sleeve and pulled him to his feet. "Come on."  
  
*****  
  
Ranma and Akane had changed into their clothes, grabbed a few things, and they were on their way. The streets were dark and damp as the four of them hurried toward Kagome's house.  
  
"I can't believe they wouldn't even let us say goodbye," Inuyasha heard Akane whisper to Ranma. "Our dads will be so worried when they find out."  
  
"Yours will," Ranma corrected her. "My dad will think I'm on a training trip of some sort. Besides, if they knew what was going on, they wouldn't have let us go, anyway. And if we stayed, then they would have been in danger, too. They'll understand everything when we get back. Quit worrying."  
  
Inuyasha looked over at Kagome, and their eyes met. He knew what she was thinking. There was only one way to remove the spell that bonded the shard tightly to Akane's neck. . . well, one way that they knew of, anyway. He gulped and looked back down at his feet. He had a horrible feeling about everything.  
  
*****  
  
It wasn't long before they arrived on Kagome's property and in front of the well. Inside the wooden structure that was built around the well's entrance, and only through the glow of the Shikon shard, Ranma looked down into the abysmal darkness. He suddenly felt sick. Maybe this Naraku guy wasn't as bad as Inuyasha and Kagome had described him. Maybe Ranma could take after all. The truth was that he had no idea where he would go, or what would happen on the other side of the well. Jumping into a world where everyone and everything wanted the stone from around his fiancé's neck, terrified him.  
  
Inuyasha gave him a shove toward the edge of the well. "Go on," he said to them. "Jump."  
  
Akane leaned over the edge, but Ranma grabbed her arm before she could fall in. "Wait," he said. "Who says that this Naraku guy is coming for her. What if we're putting her in more danger by dragging her into this mess?"  
  
Kagome, who stood beside Akane, joined them in gazing down into the depths. "Naraku will stop at nothing to get the shard. Though I don't think he himself has the ability to travel through time, I have no doubt that there are ways for him to retrieve the shard. The last thing we should do is underestimate him."  
  
Ranma gulped as Akane turned to him.  
  
"Did you hear that, Ranma?" she said defiantly. "There's no way out. Stay here if you want, but I'm going."  
  
Ranma blinked at her. The old Akane was back. . . but what had happened to change her? "Akane," he said, almost in desperation. "Don't go. We'll figure something out. We'll-"  
  
"I'm going!" she yelled at him. "So quit telling me what I should and shouldn't do!"  
  
"You heard her," Inuyasha put in. "She's going. Why don't you leave this to us and stay behind?"  
  
Ranma was so busy glaring at Inuyasha, preparing a comeback, that he almost missed seeing Inuyasha's hand reach out and push the small of Akane's back. Fortunately, he noticed just in time. He grabbed her by the waist, trying to keep her from falling.  
  
But it was too late.  
  
The two of them fell into the darkness. Ranma squeezed his eyes painfully shut as he held onto Akane, who clung onto him. "I won't let go!" he yelled, bracing for the blow when that was bound to come. Instead, they only continued to fall.  
  
When Ranma opened his eyes, the two of them were at the bottom of the well in a heap, moonlight shrouding them from above. He jumped to his feet, pulling Akane up with him. He was surprised at how willingly she latched onto his hand.  
  
"C'mon," he said. "Let's get out of here."  
  
Unlike before, there were thick vines growing all the way up to the top of the well. Ranma could barely see them in dim moonlight, but it was enough for the two of them to climb out.  
  
Once over the edge of the well, they looked around to see a forest instead of Kagome's house. Either this was some sort of elaborate trick, or what Inuyasha had told them was the truth; this really was another time.  
  
"This is too weird," Akane mumbled as Ranma slowly led her away from the well. She pointed to where a path opened up on the edge of the clearing. "Isn't that were Kagome's house should be?"  
  
"Yes, it is," a voice said from behind them.  
  
Both Ranma and Akane spun around. Kagome and Inuyasha were climbing out of the well.  
  
"But this is five hundred years earlier," Kagome went on, "and the village is down that path."  
  
"So, this really is the past," Ranma mumbled. "It's so. . . bare."  
  
"Come on," Inuyasha said, hurrying them along. "Let's go back to the village and prepare for tomorrow."  
  
"Tomorrow?" Ranma and Akane echoed.  
  
"We're going after Naraku," Kagome explained as they made their way into the forest. "If my hunch is right, then we can get the shard away from your necklace by combining it with the complete jewel."  
  
Ranma looked over at her. "And if your hunch is wrong?"  
  
Kagome didn't answer him. 


	5. Chapter 4 Hold me, Ranma!

Author's Note: Hey, guys. . . it's me again! Sorry it took so long, but I didn't forget! And I'm still writing this story!! I was stuck for awhile, but I have new ideas and won't wait this long to post again. Comments to readers are addressed at the bottom of the chapter :D  
  
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Chapter 4  
  
The night was dark and cold as Ranma rested his head back against the wall and watched Akane's chest move up and down from her steady breathing. His heavy eyelids almost fell a number of times, but Ranma always shook himself back awake. He wasn't going to fall asleep as Inuyasha sat on the other side of the room, waiting for Ranma to pass out so he could take Akane away and do who knows what to her.  
  
The other boy was glaring at him from across the room. Ranma did not try to avoid his eyes. They had been staring at each other going on an hour, and he wasn't going to be the one to back down.  
  
"Touch her and die," he growled at Inuyasha, finally breaking the silence. "If you think I'm going to fall asleep, then you've got another thing coming."  
  
"Please," Inuyasha said, his eyes rolling. "I want nothing to do with your woman. The only thing I want is the shard around her neck. I thought I made that clear, moron."  
  
Ranma narrowed his eyes. "Touch her and DIE," he repeated. "I won't let you near Akane."  
  
"Shut up," Inuyasha spat back. "I don't want your woman."  
  
The crickets outside seemed to quiet under the pounding of blood in Ranma's ears. "I'm not falling asleep, so you can leave us alone."  
  
"Ha! Like I'd leave the shard... could you be any stupider?" Inuyasha paused for a second, finally tearing his eyes away from Ranma's. "Besides, if you're going to be up for the search tomorrow, you better sleep. I won't wait for you if you can't catch up."  
  
Ranma blinked at him. If breaking eye contact had been a subtle way of conceding, then Inuyasha wasn't the man Ranma thought he was. Kagome had said that he had a nice side, but Ranma had yet to see it.  
  
"Go ahead," Inuyasha snapped at him. "Sleep next to her for all I care."  
  
Ranma was about to point out that if Akane woke up and found his arm around her, she would probably send him through the wall, but Inuyasha turned his back in a huff before Ranma could get out a word. It was then that Ranma noticed Inuyasha's hand had been resting on the hilt of his sword the entire time. . . as if he were waiting for some sort of attack.  
  
But could he trust this guy?  
  
He decided that he had no other choice, and scooted across the floor to where Akane was sleeping inside of a sleeping bag that Kagome had given her. He sat there for a moment, just looking down at her sleeping figure. The soft blue pearls of the Shikon necklace were woven between her fingers, the glow of the shard lighting up her hand.  
  
"Please don't hit me," he mouthed before he lifted the blanket to crawl in beside her. Once inside the sleeping bag, he realized that there wasn't as much room as he thought there was, and he found himself pressed up against Akane. As carefully as he could, he reached around his back and unzipped the bag to about halfway down so that he could have a little more room.  
  
Akane didn't stir until he put his head down on the pillow. Her eyes blinked open wide, but Ranma managed to cover her mouth with the palm of his hand before she could scream.  
  
"Shh. . ." he hushed. "I'm just makin' sure that nothing happens to you." He slowly removed his hand from her lips. . . which he found softer than he would ever admit. "Don't make a big deal outta this."  
  
"You pervert," she whispered back, but didn't make a move to knock him across the room.  
  
He frowned at her, but it didn't last long. "I'm only protecting you. So be grateful."  
  
"I don't need your protection," she told him just as the shard began to glow even brighter than before. Akane didn't seem to notice it. She dropped the necklace and threw her arms around him instead. "Hold me, Ranma," she sighed.  
  
He would have fought her off; really, he would have... if only he could have kept his eyes open for a second longer. His hand landed somewhere on her waist just as their heads fell down onto the pillow. Ranma thought he could feel her hair at his nose, but was too tired to brush it away. It was only a few hours until dawn, and he was sure that Inuyasha would be dragging them outside the hut the second the sun came up.  
  
*****  
  
Akane woke to the sound of someone snoring. She was going to sit up and tell whoever it was to shut up, but for some reason, she couldn't move. Her eyes flew open in alarm, only to see Ranma snoring right into her ear. He held her so tightly, that she couldn't even move her arms. She was about to give him a swift kick, when the events of last night flooded back into her mind. Had she really thrown her arms around him like that? The memory seemed a little fuzzy, but then again, she had been half asleep at the time, hadn't she?  
  
"Ranma," she said, squirming in his arms. "Wake up, PERVERT!"  
  
Ranma's eyes opened slowly, and then blinked realization. He immediately leapt up from the sleeping bag, catching his foot in the zipper, and fell flat on his face next to Akane.  
  
"Ouch," he mumbled against the wood.  
  
"Serves you right, Ranma," she told him, propping her head up on the palm of her hand. "I don't know what you thought you were doing, but thank you for saving me the trouble of hitting you myself."  
  
"You're welcome," he said as he pushed himself up from the floor and stood above her. "Because if I hadn't protected you, that asshole would have taken you away to try and get your necklace!"  
  
He looked pretty upset, but Akane just put her head back onto the pillow and looked up at him. "You're too paranoid, Ranma. Nothing is going to happen to me."  
  
"I've got news for you," he went on. "We're not in Nermina anymore. You're not always safe."  
  
"Well, you didn't have to hold me THAT tight!" she said, her voice rising. "I could barely breathe!"  
  
Ranma's face turned bright red, and he looked away from her. "It's not like I was holding you for fun," he mumbled. "Who would want to hold a stupid tomboy like you, anyway?"  
  
Akane felt her face heating up in anger and embarrassment. She sat up and looked behind her where Kagome sat in her sleeping bag.  
  
"Don't mind me!" Kagome said, smiling at them with a wave. "Pretend I'm not here!"  
  
"This is stupid," Ranma said, and Akane caught a glimpse of his pigtail just as he exited the hut. With a sigh, she turned back to Kagome.  
  
"Where's Inuyasha? He was here when we fell asleep."  
  
Kagome pointed to the ceiling.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma leaned back against the hut. What was with Akane, anyway? Why did she have to be so uncute? But why had he held her so close?  
  
It was pretty cold out, he reasoned. He was probably just cold.  
  
"Women trouble?"  
  
Ranma craned his head up to see Inuyasha's head poking out from the top of the roof. "What do you want?"  
  
"Don't think I couldn't hear you two yelling at each other," Inuyasha went on. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"  
  
Ranma blinked at him. "Excuse me? And how do you know how I feel?"  
  
Inuyasha only stared at him.  
  
"Do you have some sort of communication problem!?" Ranma wanted to know. "I asked you a question!"  
  
"You didn't answer mine," Inuyasha responded as he leapt from the roof and landed firmly on his feet beside Ranma.  
  
"I didn't have to answer your question, because it was stupid," Ranma shot back. "If you think that I would possibly be chasing Akane here out of anything more than obligation, then you're more insane than you look."  
  
Inuyasha didn't say anything, but when Ranma glanced over at him, he had a small smile on his face.  
  
"Are you making fun of me!?"  
  
"How do you like it, asshole?" Inuyasha growled as he shoved Ranma into the side of the hut. "Or is that what you call everyone?"  
  
Obviously, Inuyasha had heard that part of his and Akane's conversation, as well.  
  
"I didn't want you here, but I was nice enough to let you tag along. If you don't keep your fat mouth shut, I'm gonna stuff you back into the time well, and you'll never see your precious Akane again."  
  
"Precious..." Ranma scoffed, shoving Inuyasha away from himself. "Are you kidding me? Her father would have my head if I didn't bring her back!"  
  
Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest as his golden eyes bored into Ranma's blue ones. "Whatever. I don't wanna hear your voice again."  
  
Ranma stepped forward. "Is that a threat!?"  
  
Inuyasha only walked past him toward the hut. "It is if you want it to be." He pushed the door open, and Ranma heard both girls scream.  
  
"PERVERT!"  
  
Something hard hit the door just as Inuyasha slammed it shut and leaned back against it. His face was bright red. "Don't go in there," he told Ranma.  
  
Ranma almost laughed at him when he heard a clap of thunder. When he turned his head up, there were dark clouds looming close by. "Great," he gulped. "Rain. . ."  
  
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Comments to Readers:  
  
Kellie Evans – Thank you! I'm glad you like the story! Naraku is the main villain in the Inuyasha series. They're basically racing against him to collect the shards. If Naraku has the whole completed Shikon jewel, we can only imagine that BAD things will happen. . . lol.  
  
strangerthanthou – Thank you for reading ( Ryoga will surely pop up later in the story, so don't worry about him, yet. As to who's stronger, Ranma or Inuyasha, I would place my money on Inuyasha. I mean, he has Tetsusaiga, plus he's half demon. Ranma is super strong, but he's only human! You asked a lot of questions that even I don't know the answer to, yet, but no, Kagome is not planning on killing Akane to get the shard, but it has crossed her mind that that would be a possible way to get it. About the rest of the Nermina crew, this story is mainly set in the Inuyasha storyline, but I will no doubt pull some Ranma's crew in at the end.  
  
Peter Kim - You asked a lot of questions I don't know the answers to, too! Sorry! But a lot of those characters you mentioned will be included :D  
  
gatogirl1 – I have no doubt that Ryoga and Kouga would get along! I don't think they'll meet in this fic, but that's an idea for another one! And I'm glad to hear that someone else agrees with me on the two greatest animes :D  
  
CTHKSI – Ranma's curse. . . coming up in Chapter 5! :grin:  
  
The Wielder of the Glaive, Elysium and Lonely Soul, Anonamyuopus, Tyrean, Born-Of-Elven-Blood, DangerousElixer, king louie, Bliss and Sin – Thank you so much for reading, and I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story! More to come!! Sorry for making you guys wait. . . I'll try not to put the story off for that long again. 


	6. Chapter 5 Rain and Akane's cooking

Hey guys! Thanks so much for all of your comments!! I'll answer them at the end of the chapter :D  
  
ALSO... If anyone is interested in seeing my illustrations of this story, visit my ff.net user page and you'll find the links :D (please, let me know what you think of both the story AND the art!!)  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 5  
  
"Aren't you worried?"  
  
Ranma shrugged Akane off as they made their way through the woods. "About what?"  
  
Akane grabbed his arm and stopped him in his tracks. "Haven't you seen the sky? It looks like rain."  
  
"I'm trying not to think about it," he hissed back at her. "Be quiet."  
  
"You haven't told Kagome and Inuyasha about your curse," she went on. "Don't you think they'll—" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, she tripped on a rock. Ranma grabbed her just before she could go tumbling to the forest floor.  
  
"Jeez, Akane, you klutz! Watch your step!" He blinked at her, realizing that their faces were inches apart. Quickly, he let her go, and they went racing to catch back up with Inuyasha and Kagome. "Ah... you should really be more careful," he muttered.  
  
"Where are the others?" Ranma heard Kagome ask Inuyasha when they caught up to them.  
  
"Miroku took Sango back to her village. Apparently it's the anniversary of..." he trailed off. "Shippo went with them. We couldn't wait. We have no choice but to move on without them. Maybe they can catch up later."  
  
Inuyasha must have been speaking of his other travel companions, Ranma assumed. He didn't want to ask. "Um," he said, poking Inuyasha in the shoulder, only to receive a fierce yellow glare. "Where exactly are we going?"  
  
"To find Naraku, moron," Inuyasha huffed back at him. "If my hunch is right, we can complete the jewel by combining the other shards with the shard that hangs from your woman's neck."  
  
Ranma felt his blood boil. And he had said it in front of Akane, too! "She's not—" he broke off, stopping dead in his tracks. Akane ran right into his back. They were suddenly standing in the middle of a downpour.  
  
"Ranma," Akane said, pushing him behind her back when Inuyasha and Kagome turned to see what the problem was. "Hey, guys... there's something you should know."  
  
"Where the hell did that moron go?" Inuyasha demanded  
  
Ranma shoved Akane out of the way and stepped out from behind her. "I'm here," he said. "What Akane was trying to tell you is that—" He stopped. Inuyasha was staring at his chest. He folded his arms over it. "What exactly do you think you're looking at!?"  
  
"You're not him," Inuyasha pointed out. "You're... a woman."  
  
Kagome hit in square in the shoulder. "Quit staring!"  
  
"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Ranma screamed. "I have this curse... I turn into... well, this when I get wet." Suddenly, he had Inuyasha circling him, sniffing the air around him. "What the hell are you doing!? Get away from me!" He was about to punch the other boy in the nose, when Inuyasha straightened up and narrowed his eyes.  
  
"And I thought I had problems," he said. "You're a complete freak!"  
  
Ranma could feel his face getting hotter and hotter. If Inuyasha kept at it, then Ranma couldn't be held responsible for his actions. "Look who's talking, dog-boy!" he retorted, but it came out as a screech. He glared angrily at the other boy.  
  
They both continued to growl at each other until the girls pushed them up the path.  
  
"It would be much easier if they would just get along," Ranma heard Kagome say.  
  
"They're too much alike," Akane muttered back to her.  
  
The slippery terrain, the fact that he didn't sleep much the night before, and his smaller body proved to make Ranma almost as klutzy as Akane. He grabbed onto her dress twice and was slapped across the face once.  
  
"What's wrong with you, Ranma?" she asked after the second time, giving him a glare. Just as she said it, her shoe slipped on a slippery patch of grass, and they both fell hard to the ground.  
  
Ranma pushed a chunk of red hair from his face. "I guess I'm tired," he mumbled as he moved off of Akane. "But that fall was definitely your fault."  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. He felt his eye twitching as he listened to Ranma and Akane blame each other for why they were no longer on their feet. If Only he could have thrown the girl over his shoulder and found out a way to get the shard from her neck without having to deal with Ranma. It was then that he realized his claws were digging holes into the palms of his hands, and he spun around on the pads of his feet. "Get up," he growled at them.  
  
Akane leapt to her feet, but Ranma stayed right where he was. The girl... er boy, was almost as stubborn as Inuyasha himself.  
  
"Unless you want Naraku to find us before we can find him, I suggest you get off your ass and start walking before your girlfriend ends up missing."  
  
Ranma looked as though smoke would start to come out of his ears as the rain pounded down on the top of his head. He gritted his teeth. "She's not my—"  
  
Akane grabbed his arm and pulled him almost effortlessly. "Quit being such a jerk," she told him, "and listen to what Inuyasha says. He knows what he's talking about."  
  
Inuyasha gave a nod. "Damn straight," he affirmed.  
  
Kagome took his arm and pulled him away from Ranma and Akane. "The two of you boys aren't allowed to say a word until lunch," she ordered. "I'm sick of the fighting!"  
  
Inuyasha leaned in closer to Kagome. "He's in love with that girl," he whispered in her ear. "Only he won't admit it. What a loser!" But when he glanced over at Kagome, she had not only dropped his arm, but she'd turned away and was completely ignoring him. "I don't know what YOUR problem is," he mumbled.  
  
*****  
  
The rain had long gone, and the sky hovered above the group in a bright blue as they reached a clearing next to the river. Ranma hadn't said a word since Akane pulled him from the ground and called him a jerk. His clothes were almost dry, and very loose. He'd tightened his belt around his pants and considered his rotten luck. Not only was he five hundred years in the past protecting his uncute fiancé, but he was a girl, and there wasn't any sign of hot water.  
  
Akane punched him in the arm. "Quit moping. We'll start a fire when we stop for lunch and get you some hot water."  
  
"As long as I don't have to eat your food," Ranma grumbled.  
  
"What was that?!" Akane demanded, spinning around and balling her fists.  
  
Ranma chuckled as he stopped in his tracks. "Nothing," he said. "I didn't say anything!"  
  
She spun back around, and just by looking at the muscles in her back, Ranma could tell that she was still angry. If he said anything at all, she would surely turn around and hit him. He kept his mouth shut.  
  
"Here we are!" Kagome announced as she pulled her yellow backpack away from her shoulders and set it on the grass. "Who's hungry?"  
  
"Me!" both Ranma and Inuyasha said in unison, and then turned to glare at each other.  
  
Inuyasha jutted his thumb in Ranma's direction. "This chick ain't getting MY food," he said.  
  
"I'm a BOY," Ranma said in the lowest voice he could manage, which wasn't very low at all.  
  
Akane gave him a shove. "Oh, quit fighting. I'm sure there's enough food for all of us. Right, Kagome?" she said as she set her own pack down next to Kagome's. "And just to be sure, I brought some food of my own. Please, help yourselves."  
  
Ranma groaned as he watched his fiancé take out a paper bag and pull out some rice balls. "I think I'll go for..." he started, but before he could finish, Akane gave him the meanest glare he had ever seen. "Ah... I'm not very hungry," he said instead.  
  
"You just said you were, Ranma..." she said, her face suddenly contorting into an awkward smile. "Why don't you try a rice ball?"  
  
Ranma blinked, and the next time he opened his eyes, there was a big, deformed rice ball under his nose. "Um, no thanks, Akane," he smiled and tried to push her away. "But my stomach isn't feeling all that great. I think I'm going to start a nice fire." His stomach growled just as he finished.  
  
Akane stuffed the rice ball into his mouth and grinned at him. "And you better like it!" she told him.  
  
Ranma tried his best to keep a cool expression on his face, but Akane's food tasted like sawdust that had been doused in hairspray. Barely chewing, he swallowed the lump and waited for her to ask what he thought.  
  
But she only glared. Behind her, both Inuyasha and Kagome were watching him expectantly, wondering if he'd grin and bear it, or run to the bushes and hurl. Ranma didn't know what to do.  
  
"How does it taste, Ranma?" Akane said as her knuckles turned white.  
  
"I think I'm going to go start a fire," he said, and tried to turn around, but Akane grabbed his pigtail and jerked him back.  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
He grinned despite the awful taste that still lingered on his tongue. "It was so good and filling, Akane, that I just couldn't possibly eat another!"  
  
"Wow," Inuyasha gaped from behind Akane. "You must really love her to lie like that."  
  
Kagome hit him hard in the arm, and he winced. Ranma only felt his face heat up as Akane turned an even brighter shade of red.  
  
"I-I don't love her!" Ranma stuttered beneath Akane's bright glare. "Our parents—" He stopped.  
  
The Shikon shard that hung from her neck suddenly lit up. Akane's eyes blinked twice, and then filled with tears so big, that they could barely keep from falling.  
  
"A-Akane...?" Ranma said, finally taking a step toward her instead of away. "Did you step on something sharp or something?"  
  
Her pained eyes narrowed at him, and when she raised her hand, Ranma didn't have a chance to escape before she slapped him right across the face.  
  
"You're such a jerk, Ranma!" she screamed at him. "I hate you! I wish you weren't even here at all!"  
  
Ranma blinked at her as she fled off into the woods. "Ah, shit," he grumbled.  
  
*****  
  
'He's forgotten about me,' Akane thought as she leaned back against a large tree trunk. She'd been sitting there for so long that her legs were beginning to fall asleep, but still, Ranma hadn't come after her.  
  
Her head felt fuzzy, like their argument had only been a sort of a dream. She didn't quite know why she was so upset, but when he had said he didn't love her, her heart had felt like it sank into the depths of her stomach. After that, there was no stopping the tears. And she didn't even care how hard she hit Ranma, or if it left a bruise. He deserved it. For him to say that in front of Kagome and Inuyasha, she only wished she could have hit him even harder.  
  
Her downcast eyes fell upon the Shikon shard, and she sighed. What the hell was it doing to her, anyway? Every time she looked at it, or even thought of it, her head felt light, and her body; almost numb.  
  
She heard a rustle behind her and turned to look. Ranma stood there, his hands behind his back, and when their eyes met, his cheeks flushed a bright pink. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked him.  
  
"Not long," he mumbled. "Kagome got me some hot water."  
  
"I see that."  
  
He walked over to where she sat and took a seat next to her on the grass. She felt warm with him so close by, and more tears filled her eyes.  
  
"Hey, stop crying," he said, and when she peeked up at him, his wide blue eyes were right next to her face, looking in. "I didn't mean to make you cry like that."  
  
She buried her face back into her arms. "I don't even know why I'm crying," she admitted in a mumble. "Ever since I put this necklace on I feel so weird. I mean, YOU make me feel weird, Ranma."  
  
"Um... I do? What do you mean?"  
  
His voice sounded so sincere, so caring, that she almost threw her arms around him... but stopped herself just in time. "I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, and then slowly raised her eyes back to his. "Did you really think my rice ball was horrible?"  
  
Ranma turned his eyes away and gave a nervous chuckle. "Well..." he said, his eyes darting around like a million possible things to say were going through his mind. "I've had worse..." He braced for the blow.  
  
But Akane didn't hit him. Maybe he was trying to be nice. Maybe he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Instead of hitting him, she put her head on his shoulder and sighed.  
  
*****  
  
Up in the tree above their heads, Inuyasha sat watching Ranma and Akane. He didn't care how many times Ranma said he wasn't in love with her, to Inuyasha, even though Kagome had accused him many, many times of being insensitive, it was completely obvious that Ranma was head over heels for Akane.  
  
Not that he cared or anything. The only reason he was watching them was for one simple reason: the Shikon shard. Inuyasha would never let it out of his sight. Not even for a second.  
  
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Comments to Readers:  
  
dragon_game – Thanks for reading! I'm glad you like the story :D I'm not sure about Tetsusaiga either... Hasn't he used it on humans before? I can't think of those guys' names... lol.  
  
Andrina – Thank you! If you ever find any grammar mistakes, please feel free to point them out! I only want to improve :D  
  
Nichole Hibiki - Wow, I knew that Ranma and Inuyasha were similar, but I never thought of Ranma being Inuyasha's reincarnation. VERY interesting idea!! I'm not sure if that fits in with this story, but it's definitely a fantastic idea!!! About Ryoga, he won't be coming to the feudal era, but Inuyasha could possible meet him in Modern time later in the story :D  
  
Alex Ultra – Thanks for reading!! I'll try my best to update more regularly than I have in the past. You make some major points about Ranma being much more skilled than Inuyasha. I might have spoken a little hastily when I said that Inuyasha would beat Ranma hands down... *rethinking...*  
  
Black Hammer Girl – I'm very glad you like the story! I hope you continue to read!!  
  
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Lonely soul, you're such a fantastic reviewer. I love reading your reviews!! Ranma and Akane are my all time favorite Anime couple... And I plan on picking on them for a while longer. Hehe. I Hope you like what's to come!!!  
  
jeremiah - You're another person who pointed out Ranma's abilities and how he would be more than capable of beating Inuyasha in a fight. I think they'd be a pretty even match!! And thank you so much for the link, I will definitely use that as a reference later on in the story :D  
  
Tyrean – Thank you for the advice! Right now, Inuyasha is coming off almost mean and insensitve compared to Ranma, but once they get to know each other better, I think they'll be more even toward each other. As for fighting (if they DO fight each other seriously in the story... I'm not sure yet), I will definitely keep them both even!  
  
InuMiko – You're fantastic!!! I love your reviews, and I always look forward to your comments on deviantart, too!! I'm really glad you like the chapter, and I hope you like this one, too!! :D  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6 coming soon!! :D 


	7. Chapter 6 Where Akane's Heart Lies

Yay! I'm on a roll here, people!! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I have individual comments at the end of the chapter :D  
  
Again, Lost Time Illustrations can be found on my ff.net author page! Please check them out and let me know what you think!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ranma ½ or Inuyasha characters... though I wish I did... hehe.  
  
Lost Time Chapter 6  
  
The day trudged on as the group made their way to where Naraku had last been seen. Inuyasha had guessed that he would probably be somewhere in the area, and Kagome had thought she sensed the Shikon shards somewhere in that direction.  
  
The sun was almost setting when she glanced over at Inuyasha, who walked in front of her. "You do know what tonight is, don't you, Inuyasha?" she asked, and watched as his shoulders tensed.  
  
He didn't respond, and she took it as a hint that he didn't want to discuss the matter. Not many people knew about the life of a half demon. Once a month, Inuyasha's human blood took over, and he lost all of his demon qualities. Inuyasha didn't like to tell anyone about it because he considered the night of a new moon to be his weakest night, and he had far too many enemies to let his secret get out. The worst part of it was the fact that he could no longer use Tetsusaiga when he was in his human form, which meant that he couldn't protect any of his companions. Inuyasha never closed his eyes on such nights.  
  
"We're halfway there," Inuyasha finally spoke up loud enough so that everyone could hear him. "Let's stop for the night."  
  
Kagome could see that he had his eyes on the lowering sun that was quickly making its way down the horizon.  
  
Ranma pushed past her and gave Inuyasha's shoulder a shove. "Are you kidding me, moron? It's barely sundown. We could still go a long way today."  
  
Inuyasha's expression was serious as he looked back at Ranma. "We're stopping, and that's final. Put down your stuff, MORON."  
  
Ranma raised his fists and looked like he was about to start a fight, but Inuyasha turned around and continued walking. "I think there's a clearing up ahead," he said, leaving Ranma standing there in shock.  
  
Kagome, Akane and Ranma followed after him, only to find the clearing and no Inuyasha.  
  
"Where did he go?" Akane wondered, looking around.  
  
Kagome gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about Inuyasha. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Let's make dinner!"  
  
*****  
  
Because of the absence of the moon, the night was so dark that if it wasn't for the glow of Akane's necklace, he wouldn't have been able to see his hand in front of his face. It had been a whole day since they arrived in feudal Japan, and he didn't feel any closer to resolving the situation.  
  
Inuyasha was still missing, and Kagome had gone into the forest to look for firewood for the next morning. Ranma guessed that Inuyasha had either followed her or was off somewhere in the distance keeping an eye on Akane's shard.  
  
He sat next to Akane's sleeping bag, watching her sleep. He felt tired himself, but didn't want to sleep. Being out in the middle of nowhere with a psycho coming after them, wasn't a very settling feeling.  
  
"Why are you watching me, pervert?"  
  
Ranma jumped. He thought she was sleeping! "Inuyasha told me to watch the shard," he lied, and he wasn't sure why.  
  
"Feh," he heard from the tree above them.  
  
Ranma looked up to where the voice came from. "Quit spying on me, you asshole!" he called.  
  
"I'm not spying on you," Inuyasha's voice replied. "Unlike you, I'm keeping my eyes on the shard."  
  
Ranma felt his blood pound in his ears as he jumped to his feet. "I'm getting really sick of you!" he yelled. "Come down here and fight me like a man!"  
  
"I won't fight you. You're a puny human." He paused. "And a girl, no less."  
  
"Come down here, or I'll come up there and rip you out of that tree!" Ranma growled, but Akane grabbed a hold of his pant leg, and he had to fight to keep his balance. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, turning around to glare at her.  
  
"Kagome told us to leave him alone tonight," she reminded him.  
  
"I don't care!" Ranma yelled at her as he shook away her hand. "He's pissing me off!"  
  
There was a rustle from up above, and a shadow fell from the tree, landing firmly next to Ranma on the ground. Inuyasha stood up slowly, giving Ranma a stern look. "Are you happy?" he wanted to know.  
  
Ranma grabbed a chunk of black hair and pulled it forward to inspect it. "Who the hell are you?" he wanted to know. "You sure sound like Inuyasha, but..." he said as he took hold of the boy's human ear and pulled it closer.  
  
"Ow, quit it, moron!"  
  
Ranma let go, confused. "What happened to your white hair? And your ears... they're... normal."  
  
"I told you I'm half demon," Inuyasha said, folding his arms across his chest and turning his nose in the air. "Isn't it obvious?"  
  
Akane's hands wrapped around Ranma's arm, and she squeezed him. "He doesn't look half demon anymore," she told him.  
  
A small smile appeared on Inuyasha's face, and his brown eyes met Ranma's blue ones. "At least I don't turn into a girl," he gloated. "That's gotta be rough."  
  
Ranma gritted his teeth and balled his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. "I'm going to pound you into the ground!" he screamed, but it was too late. Inuyasha had already leapt back onto the tree's lowest branch and looked down at them.  
  
"Forget about me and go back to staring at your woman while she sleeps," he said, his face curling into a fangless grin. "I'm sure she appreciates it." And he disappeared into the branches.  
  
"Get back down here!" Ranma demanded, but received no answer. He waited for a moment, and then stomped over to the base of the tree. "Damn you, Inuyasha!" he yelled.  
  
"Why did you lie to me?"  
  
Ranma spun around to see Akane standing there beside her sleeping bag. The wind blew her hair in her eyes and she brushed it away. He blinked at her. "What?"  
  
"You lied. When I asked what you were doing, you told me Inuyasha said that you should watch the shard, but that was a lie, because Inuyasha has been up in that tree watching it the entire time."  
  
"That bastard," Ranma growled as he tilted his head in Inuyasha's direction. "I wish he'd MIND HIS OWN BUSINESS!"  
  
"Stop it, Ranma! You lied to me!"  
  
The shard on her neck was shining bright in the darkness, and Ranma cringed. "Here we go again..." he muttered.  
  
She sat down on her sleeping bag and put her face in her hands. "Don't make fun of me," she sobbed. "I don't know how you can just lie to my face like that!"  
  
Ranma went over and knelt in front of her. "What's wrong with you, Akane?" he asked. "That shard is doing something to you, but I can't figure out what it is." He reached for the shard and picked it up, holding it in front of his face and studying it. "Akane..." he said, letting it fall back to her chest. "Tell me. Tell me what this is doing to you!"  
  
Akane didn't move. She didn't even look up at Ranma.  
  
He grabbed her chin between his fingers and forced her to look at him. "Tell me, Akane. I want to figure out what's—"  
  
Akane threw her arms around him so suddenly, that she knocked him back on his heels and to the ground. His head landed in the dirt with a thud, and he tried to get up, only to realize that she was on top of his chest. Her legs straddled his waist, holding him down so tightly, that he couldn't get up if he tried.  
  
"A-Akane!" he gasped when she put her hands on either side of his face. Her face was so close to his, that he could barely breathe much less move. "Akane..." he tried to say. "Inuyasha... he's watching us!"  
  
But Akane didn't seem to care. Her knees pinched his hips even tighter than before, and when she sealed her lips to his in a searing kiss, Ranma's eyes flew wide open.  
  
*****  
  
Akane felt dizzy and off balance. She suddenly realized that she had Ranma pinned to the ground and was actually kissing him. Quickly, she pulled away from his lips. She had just untangled her hands from the sides of Ranma's head, when he grabbed her waist with both hands and flipped her gently onto the ground.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded in a hushed voice as he leaned over her with tense shoulders.  
  
Akane blinked at him. More tears were beginning to sting at the corners of her eyes.  
  
Ranma sat down beside her and sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "That look on your face just now..." he mumbled. "You looked so confused... Just tell me. Tell me what's going on, Akane!" His eyes looked back into hers, searching for some sort of answer.  
  
Akane didn't know what to say to him. She leaned into his reluctant body as hot tears fell onto her cheeks. He must have realized that she wasn't going to kiss him again, because he put his hand on her back after a moment or so. "I'm scared, Ranma," she whispered into his ear. "I can't explain the way it feels."  
  
"Th-the way what feels?" he stuttered.  
  
She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "When I think about the necklace, I start feeling lightheaded and dizzy... and then when I look at you, it gets worse. It feels like... like you're holding my heart."  
  
He gulped. "Really?"  
  
She nodded as she slipped her arms beneath his and pulled him even closer. "When you tell me things like you don't love me, or my cooking is horrible, or anything mean, I just want to cry! But then, when you're nice to me..."  
  
*****  
  
Ranma's eyes went wide. Was Akane hitting on him!? She held him so tight... and it didn't seem like she'd be letting go anytime soon. He put his other arm around her waist and found his own fingers tightening to her dress. It wasn't as though he enjoyed holding her... it was only because the night was so cold.  
  
If that was true, then why did he feel sweat prickling at his brow?  
  
"Ranma..." she said in his ear, and a chill ran down his spine. "I'm scared."  
  
He tried to remind himself that Inuyasha was watching from above, most likely thinking up insulting things to say to him tomorrow, but it wasn't working, and he pulled her even further into his arms. "I'm scared, too," he told her, and it wasn't a lie. Half of him would have done anything to get rid of the stupid necklace and take Akane back home through the well, where everything could go back to normal. But the other half... the other half didn't want to move.  
  
All he could think about was the way her lips felt on his, and the feeling that flooded his veins as her heart pounded against his own... and he didn't want to let go. He buried his face in her hair and was about to tell her that everything would be okay, when he noticed that her body had completely relaxed. He lifted his head. "Um, Akane?"  
  
No answer.  
  
She hadn't fallen asleep, had she?  
  
With a sigh, he slipped his arm under her knees and lifted her from the ground. She didn't even flinch when he set her back in her sleeping bag and pulled the top cover up to her chin. He sat back down beside her and stared down at her sleeping face. His heart beat as quickly as it did when he was engaged in the middle of an intense martial arts fight, but this was different.  
  
"So?"  
  
Ranma jumped at the voice next to his ear, and spun his head around to realize that Inuyasha was sitting next to him. "What the hell?!" he hissed.  
  
"Are you gonna admit it yet?"  
  
Ranma stood up and grabbed Inuyasha's collar, dragging him away from Akane and to the other side of the tree. "Do you make it a point to stick your nose into other people's business?" he asked once he was sure they wouldn't disturb Akane.  
  
"There's nothing else to do," he retorted as he grabbed Ranma's wrist and threw his arm away. "Let go of me, you moron. I don't want your nasty human smell all over me."  
  
Ranma glared at him. "Leave me the hell alone," he growled, spinning around on his feet and making his way back toward Akane. "I'm going to sleep. You should go back to your tree, and next time, keep your big mouth to yourself."  
  
Comments to Readers:  
  
All Readers – ~MANY of you have voiced your opinion that you think Ryoga should be in this story. Originally I wasn't planning on having him anywhere but in Nermina, but since so many of you want him in the feudal era, I'm seriously considering changing my mind. So, keep an eye out for Ryoga making his way down the well in later chapters! ;) ~Also, a lot of you have mentioned the fact that I've sorta put Inuyasha and Kagome on the backburner... Inuyasha fans, don't worry, they will have their time, too! It's coming up soon :D  
  
Alex Ultra – You're probably right about Tetsusaiga... I'll make sure that he doesn't do anything but scare Ranma with it :D Thank you for your comment!!  
  
InuMiko – You're awesome!!! Hehe. And yes, Ranma will figure that out soon. He's getting sick of being constantly picked on by Inuyasha (especially after this chapter!), so he'll come up with something of his own :D  
  
Ranmaownsme – Thank you so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying my stuff :D And yes, I'm one of those who's confused about the Tetsusaiga, but I think I understand now.  
  
Black Hammer Girl – Thank you for reading!! (and see my above comment about Ryoga ;)  
  
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Lonely Soul, once again, you're an AWESOME reviewer! I don't mind your rambling at all, in fact, I quite enjoyed it! If my story gets you thinking, then I think that's a great thing!! I really hope you liked this chapter, seeing as you asked for some Ranma/Akane kissing. Hehe. Miroku and Sango WILL be in the story later, I just can't write a ton of characters at a time, so something has to happen (but I won't say what!) before they return :D (see my above comment about Inuyasha/Kagome scenes!)  
  
dragon_game – Thank you for reading! You're right about the Tetsusaiga, I'll keep that in mind :D  
  
Dragon-eyes22 – Yay! I'm so glad you like my art, too!! I have so much fun both writing and illustrating this story, you have no idea! :D Keep reading!  
  
Nichole Hibiki – I'm really glad you still like the story! And ooooo... a Ryoga/Kouga story! I'm interested! Let me know when it's posted! :D 


	8. Chapter 7 Ryoga's Return

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from or about Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. Too bad, huh?  
  
Author's Note: Hey guys!! I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story :D Individual comments to readers are at the bottom of the chapter! Once again, go check out my author page to see some illustrations I've done for the story. (then let me know what you think of them!!!)  
  
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!)  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
Ranma woke up early the next morning and found himself with his back against the tree trunk, his legs tingling from being underneath him all night. For a second, he forgot where he was, but when he saw Akane and Kagome sleeping in their sleeping bags before him, it all came back.  
  
All of it.  
  
His stomach suddenly turned over when he remembered the events of last night. The necklace she wore was no normal string of beads, but what scared him even more was what it did to him. Instead of his usual confidence, he felt shaky and scared. This wasn't actually happening, was it?  
  
No. No, it couldn't be. He was only going through culture shock. That was it. No one could expect him to act normal... not when he was suddenly five hundred years in the past.  
  
Akane's kiss had done nothing to him!  
  
*****  
  
Kagome propped her head up on her arms as she looked over at Ranma. He was obviously unaware that he was being watched, and looked as though he was having some sort of panic attack.  
  
"Hey, Ranma," she said. "Are you okay?"  
  
Ranma jumped, his eyes focusing on Kagome's. "I'm fine," he muttered, immediately looking away.  
  
"You look like you're being tormented by something," she said anyway. "Inuyasha wasn't too mean to you yesterday, was he?"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "That asshole doesn't bother me. I'm just worried about Akane."  
  
From the look on his face, Kagome could tell that he was understating the truth. Ranma seemed to be struggling with some sort of inner battle. She got out of her sleeping bag and went to sit beside him as he eyed her skeptically. "You really care about her, don't you?" she asked as she sat down on the grass.  
  
He looked away again. "She's my fiancé," he replied. "I'm obligated to care."  
  
"Oh." Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees and stared over at the sleeping girl that Ranma was obligated to care about. When she glanced over at Ranma, she realized that he was staring at her, too. "If you don't love her," she started. "Then how come the two of you are engaged?"  
  
"Arranged marriage," he answered, his tone dull. "It was all our dads' ideas. I never got a say in the matter."  
  
There was a rustle and then a swoop, and the two of them saw Inuyasha landing before them. The sun was up, and with the grin plastered across his face, he looked like he was ready to continue on.  
  
"You ready to go, Lover-boy?" he said to Ranma, and Ranma swung at him, his fist landing right at Inuyasha's jaw line. Inuyasha wasn't fazed. "Or should I say GIRL?" The two of them were both on their feet before Kagome could do anything about it.  
  
"Did it take you all night to think that one up?" Ranma wanted to know as they circled each other.  
  
"No," Inuyasha replied. "They just come to me. You're so easy to make fun of that it's almost boring." He mocked a yawn.  
  
"Oh, yeah? I'm sure I can figure something out for—"  
  
Kagome stood between them. "Stop fighting, you two. Let's wake Akane so we can keep going. If Naraku finds her before we find him..."  
  
"That would be bad," Ranma said, and Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma went to wake Akane, but when he reached her sleeping bag, it was completely empty. He spun around and his eyes searched. "Akane?" he said, but nothing audible came out. He could only stand there, blinking at the trees.  
  
She was gone.  
  
He took off running toward the woods, shoving Inuyasha and Kagome out of the way as he ran. "Akane!" he yelled. "Akane, are you in here!?" By the time he stopped running, he was out of breath and so tired that he almost fell to his knees.  
  
"Shit." Inuyasha growled from behind him. "This is all your fault."  
  
Ranma suddenly felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, and he finally fell to the ground, clutching his chest. He wanted to get up, to grab Inuyasha by the throat and punch him in the face a million times, but he couldn't move.  
  
"If you wouldn't have distracted me, I wouldn't have taken my eyes off of the shard. Now they've got the shard AND Akane."  
  
Ranma turned his head to look at the other boy. "My fault?" he growled. "You're the one who was making fun of ME."  
  
Inuyasha only blinked back at him in shock.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ranma screamed at him.  
  
For a second, Inuyasha didn't say anything. He almost looked as though he were afraid to speak. "You're... you're..." he said, pointing at Ranma's face.  
  
"Quit teasing him!" Kagome shoved Inuyasha out of the way, and got down on her knees in front of Ranma. "Don't be worried, Ranma," she told him. "We'll get Akane back."  
  
Ranma stood up and lifted his head. "Who says I'm worried?" he wanted to know.  
  
Inuyasha was still pointing at his face, unable to say what was on his mind. Kagome hit his arm down. "Quit it," she told him. "We're going to have to get there fast."  
  
Ranma touched his face, noticing that his cheeks were damp. Had he really been crying? He blinked, furiously wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.  
  
Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and looked back at Kagome. "Both of you," he said, turning around. "Climb on."  
  
For a moment, Ranma could only blink at him. "Are you CRAZY?" he exclaimed. "Boys don't climb on other boy's backs." He folded his arms across his chest and turned his head away from them. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm a BOY."  
  
The second the words left his lips, a cold shower of water came flying at him head on. He gasped in shock only to see Kagome with an empty bucket before him. "We don't have time to argue with you, Ranma. Just do what Inuyasha says!"  
  
Inuyasha's frown turned into a tiny smirk. "What's that you said, girly?" he asked Ranma.  
  
"I'm going to smash your head into a rock!" Ranma fumed, but Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to Inuyasha. The two of them climbed onto his back and Inuyasha took off running as fast as he could.  
  
*****  
  
Five hundred years into the future, Ryoga had searched everywhere for any sign of Ranma and Akane. He looked down the block before him and tried to recognize anything in his path.  
  
"I must be close to the mountains," he said to himself as he went on his way. "I bet they're just around the corner!"  
  
He dashed to the end of the block, only to realize that it was just more houses.  
  
"I could have sworn they were around here before!" But it was hopeless. He was lost.  
  
Again.  
  
Akane's scribbled note has been enough to tell him that she was in danger. She wrote something about the necklace he'd given her, how they were going to help out some friends that Ryoga had never heard of. She had also said that they would be back soon. Hopefully.  
  
Was this all because of the necklace? Was it Ryoga's fault that Akane had left? He couldn't be sure. All he knew was that it was up to him to find her and save her. And he had to make sure Ranma stayed the hell away from her.  
  
Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed an old man sitting on the steps of an ancient shrine chanting. A small boy was bouncing a ball on the sidewalk in front of him. This might be a good chance to ask for directions!  
  
"Excuse me, sir," Ryoga said as he approached the two, and the old man ceased his chanting. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for my friends. I'm wondering if you've seen them."  
  
"Sure, young man. I have a granddaughter about your age. She's..." he seemed to be thinking really hard, "got... tonsillitis right now, but maybe I've seen your friends around. What do they look like?"  
  
"Well, the guy, he's got black hair... and a pigtail. He wears Chinese clothes. And the girl... she's really pretty. She has short dark hair. Have you seen them?"  
  
The old man shook his head. "Sota?" he said, looking over at the little boy. "Have you seen anyone that looks like this boy says?"  
  
"You know..." Sota said, his eyes lighting up. "Two nights ago I saw my sister with a boy and a girl who kinda looked like that."  
  
"Sota," his grandfather scolded. "Your sister has tonsillitis, remember?"  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Right, Grandpa."  
  
"Good luck, young man," the old man said, giving Ryoga an encouraging smile. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere." He stood up slowly and then ascended the steps that led to the shrine. Sota stayed behind, staring at Ryoga. When the old man was out of sight, he grabbed Ryoga's sleeve and pulled him down the sidewalk.  
  
"Follow me!" he whispered. "I think I know where your friends are!"  
  
*****  
  
Akane opened her eyes slowly, letting the world come into focus. She expected to see a sunny day, and Ranma sitting over her, poking her shoulder and telling her to get up, but instead, everything was pitch black. Her heart started racing, and she sat up, her hands falling to the dirt floor and her back resting against a cold stone wall. "Where am I?" she mumbled.  
  
"You're being held captive."  
  
Akane let her eyes focus in the darkness long enough to realize that a boy was standing across from her on the other side of the room.  
  
"Until they figure out what to do to you."  
  
"What to do to me?" she repeated. "Who are you?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," he said, looking at her through his dull brown eyes. "I'm just here to watch you and make sure you don't escape."  
  
Akane relaxed a little as she realized that she probably wasn't in immediate danger. Though the boy was dressed in an odd type of armor, and had some funny shaped knives hooked to his belt, she didn't sense any danger from him.  
  
"Where's Ranma?" she said, almost to herself. How could he have just let her be taken away? She reached down to the Shikon shard that hung from her neck and held it tightly in the palm of her hand. He would come and save her.  
  
Right? ---------------------------------------------------  
  
Comments to Readers:  
  
Andrina – Yeah, Akane's supposed to be out of character at times because of the spell on the necklace. Watch out, it'll get even worse!! Hehe  
  
Joseph D. Hale - Thank you so much for your ideas, but I already have a plan for how the story will go. They're awesome ideas and would make a great fic! You should try your hand at writing!!! Thanks so much for your comments!!  
  
Ranmaownsme – Thank you so much!! I feel a lot better now, but now school is getting in the way of me writing and drawing for this story. Stupid school :P Hope you liked this chapter!!  
  
Black Hammer Girl – And there's the appearance of Ryoga!! You can probably guess what'll happen next, and I hope you like his role in the story! Let's just say he'll be running into a few of the other Inuyasha characters who will help him find Akane. (since he'd have no chance at finding her himself. Lol) Lots more Ryoga to come!!  
  
Nichole Hibiki - EEK! Just as they were getting close, I had to go and rip them apart! Sorry!! I'll be focusing some more on Kagome/Inuyasha while Akane is being held captive. If you need help posting your story, I can definitely help!! Email me at irishgirl982@yahoo.com and I'll help you!!  
  
Frak - Thanks! I'm glad I could hold your attention! That line that you mentioned actually came from my Beta (who's been in Europe ever since chapter 3... lol) so credit goes to her!! Check out her stories... her username is wingsong :D Hope you continue to read!  
  
Himitsu the Hunter – Wow, you're making me blush!! I'm really glad you like the story! The Ranma/Akane fluff is my favorite part to write! And as you can see, Ryoga has made his return to the story! More Ryoga to come! Please keep reading!!!  
  
DangerousElixer – Thank you!!! I'm not even halfway through the story, so there should be plenty of chapters to come :D As for the sawdust covered in hairspray line, that was actually mine unlike the one that Frak liked... lol. I'm glad you like the story!  
  
Someone - (lol, nice name) And thank you! Hope you're still reading!  
  
Alex Ultra – Yep! And more is to come! Thanks for reading!!  
  
YamiSakura989 – Wow, since this is your first Ranma fic, I'm really glad that you're liking it! There really are a lot of crappy fics out there, and I'm glad that mine isn't considered one of them o.0 hopefully... lol. About Inuyasha and Ranma... Ranma will definitely discover more about Inuyasha in the following chapter now that he's unable to stare at Akane while she sleeps. Lol. Hope you continue to read!  
  
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Lonely soul, I don't know how long the review that was lost was, but this one was pretty long!! I love long reviews, so thanks!! There's plenty more Ranma/Inuyasha banter to come, so keep reading!! Chapter 8 will be more focused on Inuyasha and Kagome, too. I know you're looking forward to that! :D And sorry it's taking me different amounts of time to post the chapters. I'm one of those writers who posts as they write. I can't wait until it's finished to share it. So, it'll probably continue to be not so predictable. Hopefully I won't go too long again without posting! Hope you liked this chapter!  
  
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!) 


	9. Chapter 8 I'll find you, Akane

Disclaimer: Nope... I don't own any of these characters. (well, except the old man at the beginning of the story. lol...) Don't sue!  
  
A/N –Comments to reviewers are at the bottom of the story... PLUS... some BIG LOST TIME NEWS!! :D Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out... After you read the news at the bottom of the page, you'll see why. I've been one busy girl!  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 8 By: Lori Finnegan  
  
"Over here!" Sota yelled to Ryoga as the two of them raced up the backside of the shrine. At the top of the hill rested a medium sized house and a small building off to the side. Suddenly, Sota stopped and turned around to face Ryoga. "I was spying on my sister last night," he said in a hushed voice. She was with her friend Inuyasha, but she had two other people with her, too... a boy with a black pigtail, and a girl with short hair wearing a blue dress."  
  
"That's them!" Ryoga exclaimed, but Sota held up his hands in alarm.  
  
"Shh!" the boy hissed. "No one's supposed to know that my sister isn't really sick! I'll get in huge trouble!"  
  
Ryoga nodded his head in agreement. "I'll be quiet," he promised.  
  
"My sister found a secret passageway to Feudal Japan. That's where Inuyasha's from. It's a long time ago, and she's trying to collect all of the shards from the Shikon jewel. It was late when she got home, and since I had seen Inuyasha come out of the well, I knew that Kagome would be going back with him. I saw them from out of my window upstairs." He pointed to the house. "Your friends went in to the well house with them, but no one came out. I'm sure that they're with Kagome in the Feudal era."  
  
Ryoga's eyes went wide. "Feudal Japan? How will I ever find them in feudal Japan!?"  
  
"Don't look so scared. All you have to do is jump down the well," Sota exclaimed. "They're on the other side... somewhere."  
  
Ryoga blinked at him. "How will I ever find them?!"  
  
"I told you," Sota said, looking impatient. "Jump down the well."  
  
"Okay," Ryoga nodded. "Just tell me how to get there."  
  
"Are you stupid? It's down the well!"  
  
Ryoga stared at him for a second. "And where is this well?"  
  
Sota pointed over to the well house. "Inside there. Just jump in already!"  
  
"Right!" Ryoga exclaimed, grinning. "Thanks so much for your help!" and he turned around and began walking down the hill.  
  
"You moron!" Sota yelled after him. "The well isn't that way!"  
  
*****  
  
The sun beat down upon the top of Ranma's head, and the hot water that Kagome poured over his head, didn't help his problem. The day was so hot, that he thought he might pass out from heat exhaustion. Maybe he should have stayed a girl for a day.  
  
"Here you go, Ranma," Kagome said, placing a cup of instant ramen in front of him.  
  
He pushed it away. "I'm not hungry."  
  
Inuyasha looked up from his ramen, noodles poking out of his mouth and widened his eyes at Ranma. "Not hungry?" he mumbled, aghast. He paused to slurp up his noodles, and then gave Ranma a knowing look. "Oh," he said. "I see. You miss your girlfriend."  
  
"She's not my girlfriend, and yes, I'm worried!" Ranma snapped back at him. "Wouldn't you be worried if it happened to Kagome?!"  
  
"Ha!" Inuyasha scoffed. "It's already happened to Kagome, and I always save her. You must be too girly and too puny to do anything about your woman." He took another bite of ramen, chewed and swallowed. "Not that Kagome's my woman," he added.  
  
Next to him, Kagome's face was bright red. Ranma thought she might start blowing steam soon. Inuyasha seemed oblivious to her anger.  
  
"Inuyasha..." she said in the same threatening voice she had used when Inuyasha had eaten the dirt off of Akane's bedroom floor a few days earlier. "SIT!"  
  
Inuyasha's face plummeted into his cup of ramen before smashing it to the ground. "Dammit, woman!" he exclaimed against the grass. "What the hell did I do that time!?"  
  
Kagome folded her arms over her chest and looked away from him. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Inuyasha. You're a lot more fun when you're QUIET!"  
  
Ranma stood up, leaving his cup of ramen on the ground untouched, and walked away from his companions. He could hear them arguing with each other all the way down the hill, but when he got to the river, their voices faded away into the sounds of the water rushing down the riverbed. He sat down and looked over the edge.  
  
When he had grabbed onto Akane and fell down into the well with her, without even thinking, he had thought to himself that as long as he was by her side, nothing could happen to her; that he would protect her at all costs.  
  
But he had failed. Where she was, or if she was okay was now beyond him.  
  
"I'll find you, Akane," he whispered to the river. "And if anything has happened to you, I'll make sure that whoever's to blame suffers the consequences."  
  
*****  
  
Inuyasha turned his nose up at Kagome while she continued on about how insensitive and immature he was being. "And last, but not least, you have to make fun of me in front of Ranma!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I wasn't making fun of you," Inuyasha stated. "I only said the truth." When she didn't say anything, he blinked at her. "None of this matters anyway," he said. "All that matters is that we find Akane, and get the shard from her neck."  
  
"Is... is that all you care about?"  
  
Inuyasha leaned back on his hands as he stared at her. "Eh? I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"If you ask me," Kagome said, shoving a finger in his face. "You're afraid!"  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed as he turned his nose up at her. "I'm not afraid of anything." When he felt her head on his shoulder, he looked down at her in shock. What the hell? "I told you," he said. "There's nothing that I'm afraid of."  
  
She looked up at him, and their eyes met. "You're afraid that Naraku will get shard from Akane's necklace. Then, all he needs is the one in my pocket, and the two from Kouga's legs."  
  
Inuyasha didn't say anything. He didn't want to admit that she was right.  
  
"And poor Ranma. If he only knew what Naraku was capable of, I doubt he'd be so calm," she went on when he didn't say anything.  
  
"Calm? Yeah right. He's anything but calm. He wouldn't even eat his lunch."  
  
*****  
  
Ranma emerged from the woods, fully intending to pull his companions up from the ground and forcing them on their way, but what he saw made him stop in his tracks.  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha were cuddled up in the middle of the small clearing, their backs facing Ranma as they looked out into the sky. Well, it was more like Kagome was cuddled to Inuyasha, but he sure wasn't moving away from her.  
  
Could it be? After all the times that Inuyasha had picked on Ranma because he thought that Ranma was in love with Akane, Inuyasha could have the hots for Kagome?! Normally, he would have been amused. Even excited at the idea of picking on the other guy for the rest of the trip, but instead, it angered him. How dare they think of themselves when Akane was in danger!  
  
To make sure they knew he was there, he cleared his throat loudly and put his hands on his hips in annoyance as they jumped apart. "Excuse me," Ranma said, raising his voice. "But shouldn't we be going? I don't know what I just interrupted, but it doesn't matter. All that I care about is saving Akane. Get up."  
  
Inuyasha sprang to his feet and stomped over until he was standing so close to Ranma, that Ranma could see the fire in his amber eyes. "Listen, moron," he growled. "You're not the one who gives the orders around here. I am. And listen up. You didn't interrupt anything, so get it out of your fat head."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said, a smile sliding onto his face. "And that's why your face was all red when you jumped away from her. You idiot, I know you're lying. You've got the hots for Kagome, admit it!"  
  
Inuyasha stepped back slightly, his face burning a bright red. He was obviously shocked that Ranma had come right out and said it. "I don't wanna talk to you anymore," he said, and then leaned in again. "But next time you say anything about me, I'm going to rip your head off!"  
  
Ranma folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah. Right. You'll rip my head off. Whatever."  
  
Inuyasha squinted at him. "Are you mocking me?!" he said as his hand went right to Tetsusaiga and his fingers curled around the ratty handle. "You think you could actually BEAT me!?"  
  
Ranma was about to get in his fighting stance, when Kagome flew between them, putting her arms out in front of Ranma. "Stop it right now!" she yelled at Inuyasha. "You two can fight later. Right now, we need to find Akane."  
  
Ranma and Inuyasha glared at each other, silently agreeing that Kagome was right.  
  
*****  
  
Ryoga gazed down into the well. Sota had finally grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside the small shack, and now, he was contemplating jumping in. "Are you serious?" he said, looking down into the black pit. "If I jump in here, I'll find Ranma and Akane?"  
  
Sota crossed his arms over his chest. "Not with your sense of direction," he muttered. "But it will take you to feudal Japan, and that's where your friends are. You could get lucky."  
  
Lucky. Lucky wasn't a word that should be used in the same sentence as Ryoga Hibiki. He had to be the most unlucky man on earth. He turned to the boy and looked at him, unconvinced. "How do I know you're not pulling my leg?" he wanted to know. "How do I know I won't end up a pile of broken bones at the bottom of the well." Suddenly, he had a thought. "Hey, is there water in here?" The last thing he needed was to turn into a pig.  
  
"It's a dry well," Sota explained. "But who knows if you'll be let through the barrier? It didn't let me through."  
  
"But it let Ranma and Akane through?"  
  
Sota nodded. "I told you, I saw them go in, and they didn't come out. I'm sure they're with Kagome."  
  
"Well," Ryoga reasoned as he turned his gaze back to the pit of darkness. "At least I the well is dry." He was tough, he could handle the fall... and he was sure he'd be able to climb back up. "Akane, I'm coming for you!"  
  
Sota gave him a strange look. "Do you always talk to yourself?"  
  
Ryoga glanced back at him. "Thanks for your help kid. Wish me luck!" and he boosted himself up onto the wooden ledge of the well, hurling himself over the edge.  
  
"Good luck!" he heard Sota yell down at him as he fell. "You'll need it!"  
  
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BIG NEWS: I've started the Lost Time comic. Yes, that's right... this story is now going to be a manga!! Tasuki-no-miko from deviantart is helping me with the lineart and shading, and she's AWESOME, people! Everyone must check out our new deviantart site. I'll post the link on my ff.net user page since for some reason I can't post links in here... and, if you really want to see the sketches of the first 20 pages, send me an email at irishgirl982@yahoo.com and I'll send you the link :D  
  
Comments to Readers:  
  
Tyrean – You're right about Ranma screaming like a girl. Lol... did I make him scream like a girl? I don't remember. Hehe. You're also right about Inuyasha's sensitivity toward people's feelings. I realized that as I was writing, but I wanted him to pick on Ranma so much that I sorta overlooked it... hope it didn't seem TOO out of character.  
  
Super Sayian Pan – LOL, don't worry, Ryoga won't end up with the girl. I'm a total Ranma/Akane fan, and will NEVER let that happen. Hehe... keep reading!!  
  
Joseph D. Hale - hi! I'm really glad you're still reading. I don't think there's room in my story for your ideas, but they're really good ones! I just don't want this fic to be longer than it already will be!! Thanks for your review, and I hope you keep reading :D  
  
InuMiko – Yay! I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! I hope you liked this chapter, too :D  
  
YamiSakura989 – Hi! I'm glad you and your cousin like the story :D and thank you for the compliments on my art. It means a lot :D The Inuyasha/Kagome scene was in this chapter... hope it lived up to your expectations! More like it soon!  
  
Katie-chan - Thanks so much! Hope you keep reading :D  
  
Alex Ultra – I'm glad you think my story is one of the good ones :D I have a lot of fun writing it, so it makes me happy that you guys enjoy reading it. :D  
  
Elysium and Lonely Soul Lonely soul - hi again!! I love your reviews! (and sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, but I've been working extra hard on the comic lately.) Someone from Naraku's group took Akane, but she doesn't remember who or how. And, as you've guessed it, Ryoga is on his way to feudal japan! He'll be there in the next chapter :D About the Ranma/Akane pic with them dressed up as Inuyasha and Kagome... GREAT idea! I'll try and work on it soon! Thanks so much for your review! Can't wait for the next :D  
  
Dragon-eyes22 – I'm really glad you're enjoying the story :D Thanks so much for reading, and no problem about the fav on deviantart. It was a great picture!!  
  
trunks6898 – Hey SarahT! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :hug: Sango and Miroku will actually be in the next chapter, so look for them! :D  
  
Ronin S. Oath (roninsoath@AOL.com) – Yep, Ryoga made it to the well! The next question is will he make it to the other side without getting lost? (lol, sorry, yes I like to pick on poor Ryoga..) Ryoga fighting a demon... I'm not sure if I'd be very good at drawing a demon, but we'll see what comes up later in the fic :D Thanks so much for your review! I hope you continue to read!  
  
PuchikoKitty – Thank you for all of your nice compliments :blush: Hope you're still reading!  
  
Mai – Hi again! I'm glad you like the story and the art :D Hopefully it won't take me as long to write chapter 9 as it did to write chapter 8... hehe  
  
Karomaro aka Kari (ssKari2@juno.com) – Hmm... I guess I haven't really thought about Sesshoumaru yet. He might make a guest appearance later in the fic! Glad you liked the story! :D  
  
WeaselGirl – Thanks so much! I'm glad you made an exception for my story, and I'm really glad that you thought it was worth it!! Hope to hear more from you and see more of your art on deviantart :D 


	10. Chapter 9 Beyond their reach

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or Inuyasha... though I really wish I did!!!  
  
A/N – Comments to reviewers at the end of the chapter :D Also, The Lost Time comic now has 64 pages!! The link is posted on my authors page... check it out!!!  
  
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Lost Time Chapter 9 By: Lori Finnegan  
  
"We're here," Inuyasha announced, stopping abruptly at the end of the forest. A seemingly abandoned village stretched out before them, and lonely cliffs reached over from above the rustic shacks. Ranma and Kagome climbed down from Inuyasha's back and looked around.  
  
"This," Ranma said, his voice sounding loud against the silence. "This is where you think Naraku has Akane?"  
  
"If you're sure your woman didn't ditch you and go back to the well," Inuyasha countered in a slightly more serious voice. "Then I'm sure she's with Naraku. I'm not certain that they're here, but it's my best guess."  
  
"Oh, just great!" Ranma threw his arms into the air. "We don't even know where we're going!"  
  
"There!" Kagome's finger shot straight ahead. "I sense one... no two Shikon shards, right at the end of those houses!"  
  
"Akane..." Ranma said under his breath as he stared out at the town. "Well, what are we waiting for?"  
  
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Ryoga found himself in a heap at the bottom of the well, but he hadn't felt the landing. Was that little kid right? Had he made it through time? He stood up and looked around, noticing the vines that lined the walls of the well. Well, at least it was a dry well...  
  
"Kagome!!" a kid's voice squealed, echoing down into the well and off the walls. Ryoga looked up to see a small face peering over the edge.  
  
"I'm not Kagome," he called back up. "But apparently my friends are with her. Do you know where she is?"  
  
"Kagome-san is gone," a deeper voice said, but Ryoga couldn't see his face. He began to climb out of the well. "She left us a note," the voice went on, but he was talking to the child. "They went to find Naraku. We're supposed to meet up with them."  
  
Just before Ryoga reached the top, the man's face looked down at him.  
  
"Who are you?" the man wanted to know.  
  
"Ryoga Hibiki," Ryoga replied. "I'm looking for my friends. They're apparently with your friend, Kagome." He climbed over the ledge of the well and looked around at the trees. "Oh, no! This looks different! Am I lost?"  
  
The man, dressed in a purple robe, rubbed his chin as he stared at Ryoga. "Hmm... you're from Kagome's world?"  
  
Ryoga gazed back at him skeptically. "I guess... Hey, do you know where I am?"  
  
"You're in Japan. I'm Miroku, and this is Shippo." He pointed to the little boy, who smiled, bearing fangs. Behind him was a bushy tail.  
  
Ryoga jumped. "You're a... a..."  
  
"A fox demon!" Shippo exclaimed, giving Ryoga an even bigger grin.  
  
"You must be a friend of the girl that Kagome-san mentioned in her letter. She apparently has a shard around her neck," Miroku went on, "Is that so?"  
  
"Akane!" Ryoga said, his eyes widening as he took a few steps closer to the two of them. "You have to take me to her!"  
  
----------  
  
It had been a long time since Akane had first opened her eyes after being kidnapped. The boy still stood guard over her, but he rarely spoke. All the light seemed to be gone from his eyes.  
  
"What's your name?" she asked after a long moment of silence.  
  
He looked down at her. "He calls me Kohaku."  
  
"Who does?"  
  
"Naraku."  
  
The mere mention of the name sent a chill down her spine. This was the same guy that Inuyasha and Kagome spoke of... and there was no doubt about it, that he was just as dangerous as they said. She pretended that the name didn't affect her. "Sit down, Kohaku," she said. "Your legs must be tired from standing so long."  
  
But Kohaku only stared at her, unmoving. Akane didn't know what to do. 'Ranma...' she thought as she leaned back against the wall. 'Ranma, where are you?'  
  
Just as she was about to close her eyes again, the door flew open, slamming against the wall, and filling the room with a bright white light.  
  
---------  
  
Ranma squeezed his fingernails into the palms of his hand until everything went numb. He felt the blood rushing to his head and didn't let his breath out until his head felt so heavy, he thought he might pass out. He stopped walking and put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. He felt so helpless in this world. Not only was everything completely unfamiliar, but the way Inuyasha was talking up these demons made Ranma afraid for Akane's life.  
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Kagome standing beside him.  
  
"Here," she said, handing him a canteen. "You don't look so good."  
  
"He's worried about his woman," Inuyasha butted in, causing Ranma to straighten up immediately. "And if I'm right about Naraku, he wouldn't hesitate on anything in order to get that shard away from her neck."  
  
Ranma felt the blood rush from his face and down to his toes in an instant. Did Inuyasha really think that...  
  
Kagome hit Inuyasha's shoulder hard. "Stop it!" she demanded. "You're not making things any better."  
  
Ranma's chest felt heavy, and so did his legs. When Kagome and Inuyasha continued on, he didn't follow them. Kagome turned back and took his arm, pulling him alongside her.  
  
"Don't listen to him," she said in his ear. "He's only trying to prove what an insensitive jerk he is."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma mumbled, swallowing hard.  
  
"We're getting closer to the Shikon shards," Kagome said loud enough so that Inuyasha could hear her, too.  
  
"I'm surprised we haven't run into any traps yet. This is starting to look more and more suspicious," Inuyasha muttered back as his hand clenched Tetsusaiga at his waist, ready for anything that came his way.  
  
----------  
  
Ryoga held tightly to the girl's waist as they flew high above the clouds on a large fire cat's back. Miroku and Shippo sat in front of her. "Sango?" he said her name, when the cat lowered into a cloud. "Are you sure this thing is safe?"  
  
Sango smiled back at him. "Kirara has never let us down!" she assured him. "So, don't worry. Besides, we're almost there."  
  
Ryoga nodded, looking down at the green earth below his feet. Were Ranma and Akane really down there somewhere?  
  
---------  
  
The closer they stepped toward the Shikon shards, the more deserted the village seemed. The wind that kissed Ranma's cheek felt cold and lonely, and the dirt beneath his shoes shifted so noisily that he could have sworn he heard his footsteps echo against the cliffs.  
  
Inuyasha stopped so abruptly, that both Ranma and Kagome slammed into his back. He held out his arms so they wouldn't fall. "Shh," he hushed as he sniffed the air. "Naraku's filthy scent is all over this place. He's definitely been here."  
  
The wind suddenly picked up, and the three of them braced their feet to the dirt. Dark clouds rolled above their heads as the trees swayed to the whistling of the wind. A rusty hinged wooden door flew open the shack before them, and a woman with red eyes and a white fan covering the remainder of her face, appeared in the doorway. She chuckled, her tone sinister.  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed. "Kagura."  
  
"Who else?" she replied, removing the fan from her face and moving it behind her back. "Naraku has asked me to tell you to give up. We have far more shards than you do. How many do you have now? Oh, yes, that's right... one," she smiled at them, her eyes sparkling.  
  
Inuyasha lifted Tetsusaiga from its sheath, and raised it above his head. He looked over at Kagome. "Take Ranma, and step aside," he told her. "I'll take care of Kagura."  
  
When Kagome grabbed his sleeve, Ranma pulled away from her. "You're kidding me, right?" he yelled at Inuyasha over the screeching wind. "You think I'm just going to stand there when Akane's in danger?!"  
  
Inuyasha only glared at him. "If you know what's good for you, you'll go with Kagome. If you want to stay here and fight, I won't protect you. You're on your own."  
  
"Whatever!" Ranma yelled back. "I don't need your help, and I don't need your protection. I can take care of myself, and I can protect Akane without you behind me."  
  
"Fine!" Inuyasha said, his voice raising.  
  
"Oh, please," Kagura's voice butted into their burning gazes. "I don't have all day."  
  
The heel of Ranma's hand connected with Inuyasha's shoulder blade, and he pushed hard, shoving the other boy away from himself so he could stare straight at Kagura. "Tell me," he demanded. "Tell me where you're hiding Akane!"  
  
Kagura's eyes only narrowed at him. "I've never seen you before," she said, looking him up and down. "Are you one of that half demon's friends, or did you just wander into the village?"  
  
Ranma could feel his face heat up. "I asked you where Akane was," he repeated, his voice strained.  
  
Kagura looked up as though she was thinking hard. "Hmm... Akane... Akane, I don't know any Akanes."  
  
"Don't play dumb, you idiot!" Inuyasha growled from behind Ranma. "She's the girl with the shard around her neck. Tell us where she is!"  
  
"Oh!" Kagura explained, a thick smile spreading over her face and lighting up her red eyes. "Well, let's just say she's taken care of."  
  
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Inuyasha watched as Ranma ran toward Kagura. He jumped into the air, feet first, and it looked as though he planned on landing a kick to her skull. Kagura simply waved her fan, sending him flying back to where he came from. Ranma's body flew into Inuyasha's, and they both landed hard on the dirt.  
  
"Get the hell off of me!" Inuyasha growled, shoving Ranma off of his chest. "What the hell do you think you're doing jumping at her like that?"  
  
"Now I know her moves," Ranma said, a determined grin forming on his face as he brushed the dust away from his shirt."  
  
"Yeah, you only get killed in the process," Inuyasha responded as he stood up and then grabbed Ranma's sleeve. "Go stand by Kagome while I take care of her before she tears you apart."  
  
Ranma hit his hand away and stood up on his own. "I told you," he said, his voice strong. "I'm not giving up until I have Akane back. I'd rather die."  
  
"Then you're dumber than you look," Inuyasha said as he turned his back on Ranma and faced Kagura again.  
  
"Lucky for you," Kagura said as she pulled the tiny feather from her hair. "There's no need to fight me today. I'm only here to deliver word from Naraku."  
  
Both Ranma and Inuyasha blinked at her.  
  
"The shard you seek is unreachable to you. So, don't even bother trying to find it," she told them, and then threw the feather before her feet. A loud popping noise sounded and before Inuyasha could blink, Kagura was floating high into the air.  
  
"Dammit!" Inuyasha fumed. "I was counting on her to lead us to the shard!"  
  
Kagome ran up to them, stopping between the two. "But I know it's here. I can sense the shard. It's—" She pointed off to the left, but the moment Inuyasha and Ranma looked to where her finger pointed, they all realized that there was nothing there to point at.  
  
"There's nothing there," Ranma pointed out the obvious, only to be jabbed in the ribs by Inuyasha.  
  
"Kagome's never wrong," he growled. "If she says the shard is there, then it's there."  
  
Ranma glared back at him, "Unless Akane's up in the tree, then she has to be wrong!"  
  
Inuyasha ignored him and watched as Kagome neared the spot she had pointed to moments before. With her hands outstretched, she stepped forward, and then stopped.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she called out, and Ranma spun to face her, too.  
  
"There's a barrier here!"  
  
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Akane sat up straight. About a half hour ago, a man had come in and told Kohaku he was needed, and now she was alone.  
  
Softly, and in the distance, she thought she heard voices. And one of them sounded like Ranma's! She stood up and ran to the door.  
  
"Ranma!" she called as she pressed her hands against the wood. "Ranma, is that you!?"  
  
---------  
  
Ranma put his hands on the barrier, and pressed his nose up against it. He only saw a bright red light as the barrier held him back. "Akane!" he yelled to the barrier, but didn't hear a response. "Akane, if you're in there, and you can hear me, we're gonna get you out! Don't worry!"  
  
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Comments to Reviewers:  
  
Joseph D. Hale - Thanks so much for all of the ideas! And I'm glad you're enjoying the story :D  
  
Akiko-chan17 – Yay! I'm so glad you like the manga! I've been working really hard on it! TnM has been working hard, too! I actually have a bunch more pages up on the site, so go check it out!! (the link is on my author's page)  
  
Phantom Crossing – Yes, Akane/Ranma and Kagome/Inuyasha are VERY similar! Glad you like the story!  
  
Kyo-chan – Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been working on the Lost Time Comic, too. I will DEFINITELY continue this story :D  
  
name: who wants to know? - Cute name! lol. And don't worry, I won't forget about this story! I'm completely obsessed with it! Thank you for the compliment (  
  
roses in bloom –See? Ryoga has people to help him find his way. Otherwise he would never find Akane or Ranma!  
  
WeaselGirl – I'm so glad you still like the story! Hope you're still reading! :D  
  
Mai - Thanks! I actually have a story that could be turned into a comic, but right now I'm too busy working on Lost time to think about that. Thank you though!!  
  
Ainulindale – lol, you're like me. I'm actually supposed to be studying for finals right now, but instead I finished writing chapter 9 and now I'm writing reviews to viewers. I haven't come across ANY good Ranma/Inuyasha crossovers... which is why I wrote one. I'm glad that you think mine is good!  
  
Koala Kitty – Hey! Thanks for commenting on my story! Yours are AWESOME! I actually have a chapter of your newest to read. The alert is sitting in my inbox :D Hope you're still reading!  
  
trunks6898 –You're welcome! I love commenting back to reviewers :D The Inuyasha/Ranma relationship is one of my favorites to write. I figured they wouldn't get along since their personalities are so similar. They're both too cocky to let someone else take the lead. Lol  
  
DangerousElixer – Yay! I'm glad you like the comic! If you go back to that page, I've updated it with a ton more pages! And you got a little of Sango and Miroku in chapter 9 :D more to come in the future!  
  
Draconic Ban-sidhea – It would have taken Ryoga YEARS to find Ranma and Akane, but luckily Sango and Miroku were there to help him! :D Look for a lot more Ryoga getting lost jokes in this story. Hehe Sesshoumaru will be in the story later... ;)  
  
kirayasha aka kira – Kira, you're the best!!! Thanks so much for the Lost Time fanart! I LOVE IT!!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you like this chapter too!!  
  
Dragon-eyes22 – Hey!! Hope all is well ( I wrote your suggestion in my deviantart journal :D Hope you liked this chapter, too!!  
  
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Another note from me...  
  
Hopefully it won't take me so long to write chapter 10. I was unclear about the plot for a little bit, but I think I have everything settled and know where exactly I'm going with this fic. Please leave a review! They really make my day :D (and then go check out the Lost Time comic!! The link is located on my author's page ( ) 


	11. Chapter 10 RANMA, YOU BASTARD!

Disclaimer: Nope... Sadly I don't own Ranma ½, Inuyasha, or any of the characters. (  
  
Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long to get these chapters out. Once again, I've been spending a lot of time on the Lost Time comic (you can find the link located on my author's page) and I'm already drawing page 76... O.O Comments to readers are located at the bottom of the chapter :D  
  
I'd also like to thank my betas... Animedevildog, kirayasha, and catchbreath. (all from deviantart. Go worship them!) You guys rock! All of you found different things for me to fix. :hugs:  
  
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Lost Time  
  
Chapter 10  
  
By: Lori Finnegan  
  
"Akane..." Ranma said, his forehead pressed up against the barrier. It would only figure that when he finally found her, he couldn't reach her. Now that the wind had died down, silence hung heavily in the air. Ranma balled his fists and stepped away from the barrier. "Do you know any way to get rid of this thing?" he asked Inuyasha, who stood next to Kagome with his arms folded over his chest.  
  
"Naraku's barriers are almost impossible to break," Inuyasha told him. "Luckily, you have me to help you."  
  
Kagome elbowed him in the ribs. "Be careful! Akane's in there!"  
  
"Not to mention the shard," Inuyasha muttered.  
  
Ranma grabbed Inuyasha's collar. "What was that?"  
  
Inuyasha's golden eyes never met Ranma's blue ones. He only shoved Ranma away with one hand and reached for his sword with the other. "Step aside, human!" he declared.  
  
Ranma noticed Kagome rolling her eyes. She grabbed Ranma's sleeve, pulling him back anyway, and they watched as Inuyasha held the large sword out in front of him, pointing it straight at the barrier. For some reason, Ranma felt his heart rate pick up considerably... and he wasn't quite sure why.  
  
A red glow began swirling around Tetsusaiga, and Inuyasha raised it further over his head. "Bakuryuha!" he shouted, slamming the blade down into the side of the barrier and cutting a slash from top to bottom. The barrier lit up, and then quickly faded away from Inuyasha's cut, revealing a small wooden shack.  
  
"Akane!" Ranma shouted as he broke free from Kagome's hold and ran to stand beside Inuyasha. "Step back from the door!" he called out to her before he ran at it, kicking it down hard. It slammed into the dirt floor with a clatter that echoed up into the cliffs above them.  
  
"Akane!" Ranma called, jumping into the room and landing in the middle of the fallen door. Though the room was dark, it was obvious that Akane was nowhere to be found. "Akane..."  
  
"She's not here?" Kagome's voice came from behind him.  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted. "Did you really think she would be? That would have been far too easy."  
  
"But... but I sensed the shard just a moment ago. Where could she have gone off to so quickly?"  
  
Ranma sighed. He had been so close. He walked over to the wall to his left and ran his fingers down the grain of the wood. She had been here, he knew it. How could he have just missed her?  
  
"Ranma?"  
  
He spun around to see Kagome, holding up a small piece of light blue fabric. She held it out to him.  
  
"Wasn't this the same color as Akane's dress?"  
  
Silently, Ranma took hold of the fabric and held it up to a stream of light that poured into the room through a loose board in the roof. "Yeah," he muttered. "She was definitely here."  
  
"Naraku's no idiot," Inuyasha put in. "He wasn't just going to leave her here so we could take the shard. Though I do have one question."  
  
Both Ranma and Kagome looked up at him. "If Naraku was so eager to get his hands on the shard, why didn't he just kill Akane and take it?"  
  
Kagome sighed. "That's easy," she said. "He's using her as bait."  
  
---------  
  
"We'll have to stop here," Miroku announced as Kirara's feet touched down to the forest floor and everyone climbed down. "It's too windy to continue safely."  
  
"But..." Ryoga started. "What if Akane's in danger?"  
  
Sango set down her boomerang and sat down next to it. "We can't go on. It's too windy. We'll have to meet up with Inuyasha and the others tomorrow." She looked up at Ryoga and blinked at him. "Don't worry about your friend. She's in good hands."  
  
Ryoga gulped.  
  
---------  
  
"You should sleep."  
  
Ranma squeezed his knees tighter. If that stupid Inuyasha would stop staring at him, then maybe he COULD sleep! "I'm trying!" he hissed. "Leave me the hell alone!"  
  
'If you don't sleep, we'll never make it to Akane and the shard tomorrow," Inuyasha's voice was thick. "And it won't be me who's dragging you around."  
  
Ranma turned around to glare at him. "Shut the hell up! Maybe if you left me alone, I could sleep, you idiot! Did you ever think of that?"  
  
Inuyasha shrugged and turned his back on Ranma. His calm attitude pissed Ranma off. How could he be so put together when Akane was out there... being held captive by a weird ass demon who liked to play mind games? Wasn't he worried that something would happen to the shard?  
  
He turned his gaze from Inuyasha's back and stared back out at the lonely town. Kagome slept before him in her sleeping bag, the moon's light dancing in her hair. Ranma thought about what Inuyasha had said. Maybe it would be better if he got some sleep... but why was it that every time he closed his eyes, he kept hearing the crack of the door falling to the dirt and seeing the empty room... and no Akane.  
  
Ranma pulled the small piece of blue cloth from his shirt and squeezed it in his fist. If she was hurt, he would never forgive himself for not making it to her in time.  
  
---------  
  
Naraku leaned back on his futon, holding his head up with his hand. "Kagura," he said, looking up to the sliding doors where the woman. "Bring me the girl."  
  
Kagura nodded and then turned around, disappearing out of sight.  
  
Naraku stared at the opposite wall. This girl was getting on his nerves. He knew a little about the spell on her necklace from a group of time demons that he had been in touch with a while back, but he wasn't exactly sure of its properties.  
  
He sat up as Kagura led the girl inside. Kagura pushed her to the opposite side of the small room and the girl knelt before Naraku. She shook with fear, and Naraku gave her a small smile.  
  
"Who gave you that necklace?"  
  
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "M-my fiancé," she stammered.  
  
Naraku narrowed his eyes at her. "And just where did he get such a jewel?"  
  
She only blinked.  
  
This girl wasn't any help to him. She knew nothing of the shard's origin, and she most likely knew nothing about the spell that bound the necklace to her neck. Time demons could be very manipulative creatures, and they were known to change their spells slightly so that they couldn't be undone by anyone else but themselves.  
  
Naraku leaned over to the girl and pinched the shard between his two slender fingers. A black light radiated from his fingers to the tips of the shard. It burned his fingers, and he dropped it back to her neck. Dammit, it was just as he thought. That damn time demon had placed some sort of ward on the bond between the Shikon shard and the pearls. While he could touch the beads at will, if he tried to take the jewel itself, the spell warded him away.  
  
"Why don't you just kill her?" Kagura suggested from her place at the door. "Once she's dead, you can remove her necklace."  
  
Naraku turned to look at him. "Get out!" he growled, and Kagura left the room quickly.  
  
He looked back at the girl, who had moved closer to the wall when his back was turned. Her brown eyes glimmered with fear, and while he would have normally been pleased, it only angered him. Kagura had a point. He could kill her and take the shard, but what would happen to the shard if it were unnaturally parted from its owner? He knew that the spell was powerful, but was it powerful enough to destroy the shard?  
  
---------  
  
Late that night, Ryoga sat up by the dwindling fire, staring into the golden embers, and wishing he could be with Akane. Kirara sat next to him, purring as she brushed her cheek against his knee. He looked down at her, placing his hand between her ears and stroking her soft head.  
  
"Where do you think Akane is?" he asked Kirara. "If Ranma's done anything to hurt her, I swear, I'll—"  
  
Kirara passed his legs and then turned her head to look at him.  
  
"You know where she is?" Ryoga whispered as Kirara's tails beckoned him across the campsite and into the woods. "Kirara! Wait!"  
  
Finally, she stopped a few yards away from the campsite where Miroku, Sango and Shippo slept silently. Ryoga blinked, and when he opened his eyes, she had returned to full size. Was she going to take him to Akane?  
  
---------  
  
Ranma's heavy head swung back, and his neck twisted uncomfortably.  
  
"RANMA!! YOU BASTARD!! WHERE THE HELL IS AKANE!?" a thundering voice pounded against his eardrums, and he wretched his eyes open only to see Ryoga's red and angry face before his own. Ryoga drew his fist back and hit Ranma hard in the jaw. Ranma's back slammed into the ground. He sat up, groaning as he rubbed his jaw.  
  
"Ryoga." He blinked. "Ryoga!? What... what the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Ryoga crossed his arms in front of his chest, assuming his fighting stance. "Stand up, you coward!" he yelled. "What you've done to Akane is inexcusable!"  
  
Ranma jumped to his feet, ignoring the sting in his jaw. "You have no idea what's going on, Ryoga, so why don't you just wander around until you finally find the well. I'm assuming that's how you got here, am I right?"  
  
"It doesn't matter! All that matters is that I make sure you pay for what's happened to Akane!"  
  
"You don't even know what's happened to Akane!" Ranma yelled back at him.  
  
There was a rustle from the edge of the forest, and Inuyasha appeared. He stepped right in front of Ranma. "Who the hell is this guy?" he wanted to know.  
  
"He followed us here," Ranma explained. "I think he did, anyway. Who knows."  
  
Inuyasha walked up to a stunned Ryoga, staring him straight in the eyes. "Are you this chick's friend?"  
  
"Excuse me!?" Ranma exclaimed. "I am not a chick!"  
  
Ryoga folded his arms over his chest and glared at Inuyasha, "And I'm definitely not his friend," he declared.  
  
Inuyasha turned around and sat down next to the edge of the woods. "Whatever," he huffed, and then looked right at Ranma. "Tell your friend to go home. I'm babysitting far too many humans as it is."  
  
Ryoga stomped up to Inuyasha's feet and stared at him. "I'm not going anywhere until Akane's safe!"  
  
"He's right," Ranma piped up from behind. "He really isn't going anywhere without help. Ryoga has the worst sense of direction I've ever seen."  
  
Inuyasha blinked at him. "Ryoga, huh?" he muttered. "You got a thing for Akane, too?"  
  
Ranma's heart rate picked up. Would he ever give it a rest!? Just as he was about to defend his own feelings, Ryoga pounded his fist to his chest.  
  
"I'm in love with Akane-san!" he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. "And I will do anything I can to protect her! I'll even give my life for her!"  
  
Ranma glared at him. "You're making me sick," he told Ryoga. "Whoever loves an uncute tomboy like Akane has some serious problems."  
  
"Hey, Ranma, catch."  
  
Ranma, Ryoga and Inuyasha all turned their heads to see Kagome a few feet away, throwing a canteen in their direction. In midair, the cap came loose and water splashed out... landing right on Ryoga.  
  
"Oh no!" Kagome said as she covered her mouth. "I guess I didn't screw the cap on tight enough. I'm so sor—"  
  
Inuyasha lifted Ryoga's shirt to find a little black snout poking out of the armhole. "What the hell?"  
  
Kagome looked down into the shirt with him as Ranma plopped down on the ground, rolling his eyes. Kagome lifted P-chan from the shirt and held him up before her. "Oh, he's so cute! But I could have sworn I just saw a boy standing here."  
  
P-chan squealed as he struggled out of Kagome's grasp and fell back onto the heap of clothes. He turned to glare at Ranma.  
  
"Don't look at me, P-chan," Ranma said, turning up his nose. "You should have stayed home. Akane doesn't need your help. How did you find me, anyway? It's only been three days since we left home. There's no possible way you could have caught up that quickly on your—" Ranma stopped. He felt something warm and furry by his arm. He blinked, turning around and looking down. It was... it was a... "CAAAAAAT!" he screamed, leaping up into the air and landing behind Inuyasha's back.  
  
Inuyasha tensed in alarm.  
  
"It's only Kirara," Kagome explained. "She must have brought us the little piggy. But where are the others?"  
  
"Get it away! Get it away!" Ranma cried as Kirara crept closer and closer to him, her head tilting at him, confused. "GET IT AWAY!!"  
  
Inuyasha grinned. "Kirara... come here."  
  
Kirara only looked at him, more confused. She sat down on the ground, unable to decide what it was she wanted to do. Kagome picked her up and stepped away from Ranma. "Um, hey, Ranma," she said, her voice uneasy. "Are you okay? You act like you've never seen a cat demon before."  
  
Ranma pressed his back up against the tree as he stared back at Kirara, unable to say a word. Inuyasha drew back his fist and punched him in the stomach. He rolled onto his side, senseless.  
  
"Snap out of it, moron," Inuyasha said when Ranma opened his eyes.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Yep, that's it! The end of Chapter 10. So, Ryoga finally found his way to Ranma... but will they make it to Akane on time? And How pissed will Sango and Miroku be when they realize that Ryoga stole Kirara?  
  
Chapter 11 coming soon, hopefully!!!  
  
Comments to readers:  
  
Dragon-eyes22 – Hi! Thank you very much for your nice comment. I try to make the chapters longer, but it takes me a while to get them out since I have so many other projects (lol, you know about them!) that it's hard to get the story done quickly... and I hate making you all wait so long for new chapters. :D  
  
WeaselGirl – LOL, well, I don't think Jakotsu will be in the story... but you never know!!  
  
Joseph D. Hale – Thank you for your ideas!!  
  
kirayasha aka kira – Sorry I didn't say anything about the update on deviant art... hehe, I will in the future, but you've already read this chapter... soo... okay, now I'm rambling. Anyway, You will be the first to know for upcoming chapters!! I'm glad you liked chapter 9!!  
  
Tasuki-no-Miko - Hey, TnM!!! Kouga will be in here in the future :evil laugh:  
  
jade30 – Thank you so much! That's one of the best compliments I've received so far.  
  
Alex Ultra – Sorry about Ranma... I have issues writing fight scenes. Hopefully I can work up the guts to write a better one in the future. Your idea is great, but I'm not very good at writing all of the technical fighting stuff (as you can tell) and I'm trying to stick more to characterization and dialogue. Maybe I'll be feel confident with other things later to write more about them. Thank you for your comments!  
  
Genki no Yuuki – Hi!!! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you're still around to read this chapter and those to come. ( While Inuyasha is strong, he doesn't have the skill that Ranma has. It's hard to put them against each other because their fighting styles are so different. Plus, Inuyasha can't use Tetsusaiga against Ranma. (lol, this debate could go on forever, so I'll end it here!)  
  
Akiko-chan17 – Hey!! Glad to see that you're ungrounded! Sorry I haven't replied to your email yet. Things got crazy here. I'll try and get to that later today. I'm really glad you still like the story! I hope you like chapter 10, too :D  
  
Mai - Hello! Ryoga... isn't he always lost? Lol. Does he really EVER know where he is? He must have gotten knocked pretty hard in the head as a kid. About the comic, I've already started it. Tasuki-no-miko and I have colored up to page 28, and I've sketched up through 75. The link is on my author's page! :D  
  
trunks6898, avolare, and Kuno-Baby –Thank you for your reviews! I hope you like this chapter, too.  
  
CaraBera –Hello! I'm really glad you like my comic! Don't become discouraged with drawing. It took me a long time to even be able to do a comic, and I still have a LONG way to go. Just keep practicing! I learned to draw from a lot of different places, but I mainly taught myself by just keeping at it and drawing things over and over again. I used other artists as inspiration until I developed my own style. Also, I took some art classes in school that really helped with proportion. I don't know how old you are, but in college, there are life drawing classes where they have actual models come in and pose for you. After practice, it's easier to get proportions right on your own (and eek, I still have a long way to go. Lol)  
  
f-zelda – Hey! The link for the manga is found on my author's page, but if you go to wanderingreality.com and click on art, it's there, too. I'm really glad you like the story! Let me know what you think of the manga when you read it :D  
  
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Welcome back, lonely-soul! I just love reading your reviews. I feel like I'm probably making Ranma a little more... weak than he usually is in the anime and manga, but I can't help it. Hope it's a little believable. Lol. And here, in chapter ten, you've got your answer as to if Ranma finds Ranma or Akane first. Poor Ranma! I have a feeling that Inuyasha and Ryoga might get along. Lol. We'll see!!  
  
Makotojs – Thank you for your compliment! I try hard to keep the characters true, but it's hard. Especially with Ranma. I want to make him more... mushy. I'll try not to go much further. Heh. 


	12. Chapter 11 Separation Anxiety

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters from Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. . . though I really wish I did. . .

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for the comments! They really do make my day! I want to thank all of my lovely betas for help with this chapter. You were all a big help :D I didn't use all of your ideas, but they were all taken into consideration :D

I hope that you won't have to wait so long for chapter 12. Sorry 11 took so long. Blame it on School

* * *

**Lost Time  
****Chapter 11 – Separation Anxiety  
****By: Lori Finnegan**

Ranma, Inuyasha, Kagome and Ryoga had been walking for three hours in complete silence. Kirara took the lead and Ranma the rear so that he would be as far away from the firecat as possible. He stared at the back of Ryoga's head and wondered about where they were headed.

Inuyasha had been suspiciously quiet since morning, and Ranma didn't like it. In fact, the whole group seemed somber. Not only was it incredibly quiet, but they seemed to be walking slower, too. Almost depressed, Ranma looked down at his feet as he walked. Had everyone given up on Akane?

"What are you so upset about?"

Ranma jumped, before looking up to see yellow eyes staring at him. He glared. "Maybe if you'd just mind your own business for two seconds, people would feel more like opening up to you!" 

Inuyasha stepped backwards as they continued to move along. He didn't even flinch at Ranma's anger. "It was only a question," he said. "Besides, all of your bitching and moping is slowing us down."

"I'll mope if I wanna mope," Ranma threw back.

Inuyasha shrugged. "So what if we didn't get Akane back. At least we know for sure that Naraku has her. Besides, Kagome can sense her shard when we get close. There's no reason to mope."

Ranma looked back at him, but Inuyasha's eyes looked immediately away. Was the guy trying to make him feel better? He couldn't tell...

Before Inuyasha had a second chance to think about it, the yellow eyes reappeared in front of him. "So get a move on, asshole! I'm sick of waiting for you!" And he spun around to take his place back at the front of the line.

"I'm an asshole!?" Ranma exclaimed. "YOU are the biggest bastard I've ever met in my entire life!"

Inuyasha acted like he didn't hear him, Kagome gave him a sorry expression, and Ryoga shook his head. For a moment, Ranma stopped walking and just watched as they went on ahead of him. How long would it take them to notice if he just disappeared? Without thinking a second longer, he slipped off into the woods and lightly padded out of sight and earshot.

Inuyasha wasn't helping him in the least. And what was worse was that he seemed to be more concerned about the stupid shard than he was about Akane. Ranma stomped down on a fallen log and listened to bark crack beneath his feet. "That jerk," he muttered, taking off at a quicker pace through the woods. "I'll find Akane on my own, and then we'll go back through the well without those losers."

* * *

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve, and pulled him to a stop. "Hey, Inuyasha, it's getting really hot. Do you think we can stop for awhile?"

Inuyasha turned back to look at her, but his eyes went right past her head, landing on... Ryoga? She turned her head and followed his gaze past Ryoga and into the empty forest. "Um... where's Ranma?"

"That moron!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "We should have been watching him. He's as good as dead out there without ME to protect him!"

"Ha!" Ryoga said as he looked at the other two. "If you think that, then you obviously don't know Ranma very well."

Inuyasha turned to glare at him. "Shut up, pig-boy. He's a human, and that's all I need to know."

"He's my rival for a reason," Ryoga went on. "Ranma can take care of himself."

"I hope you're right," Kagome added in.

* * *

Ranma stepped out of a clump of trees and looked around. Before him lay a small village. A few girls were talking and laughing amongst themselves while they washed a load of garments. Ranma approached them.

"Hi," he said. "I'm looking for a guy named Naraku. Have you heard of him?"

First, the girls looked him over, giving him strange looks. Then, they shook their heads no.

"Um, thanks," he mumbled before continuing on his way. Maybe he wasn't thinking when he decided to go off on his own. After all, not only did he know nothing about this world, but he also had no idea where he was and no clue where in hell Naraku could be keeping Akane.

By the time he reached the other side of the village, he'd gotten a half dozen confused looks, three threatening glances, and one offer of a place to stay for the night.

Onward he walked, wondering where he would end up and if he would be able to find Akane in time.

A few miles out of the village, he stopped walking abruptly. Something wasn't right. The air was hot and humid, and if he listened really carefully, he could hear the sound of someone breathing to his right. Not taking any chances, he spun to face the stranger.

"Come out from your hiding place," he demanded. "I know you're there."

A man with pointy ears, a tail, and dressed in brown fur stepped out from around the corner of a rock formation. "Don't even think about trying anything," he growled at Ranma. "It is you who is the intruder, not me."

Ranma's body unconsciously went to his fighting stance. He glared at the man between his bangs. "I'm only making my way through this area," he explained. "My fiancé was captured by someone, and I'm trying to get her back."

"Captured?" The man's narrowed eyes disappeared as he approached Ranma, sniffing the air. "Ugh! You reek of that mutt's stench! Don't tell me you've claimed Kagome as your woman, too!"

Ranma straightened up. "My woman? Kagome?" This guy knew Inuyasha and Kagome?

"You heard me."

"No, no, there's no way she's my woman. It's pretty obvious that Inuyasha—" he stopped. Maybe it was a bad idea to talk about Inuyasha and Kagome as an item. This guy seemed to have a thing for her, too. "Really," he started again. "My fiancé's name is Akane. We're from Japa— I mean Kagome's world. Naraku has Akane, and all I'm trying to do is find her and bring her home."

The guy rubbed his chin, looking Ranma over and obviously thinking hard. "Are you one of Naraku's demon in disguise?" he asked Ranma. "Your clothes look suspicious."

"I told you, I'm from Kagome's world!" Ranma repeated. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"Who wants to know?!" Kouga spat back.

"I do! I'm trying to find my fiancé, but I have no idea where I can find Naraku. Can you help me?" When the guy said nothing, Ranma added, "Uh, please?"

He stuck out his hand to Ranma. "My name is Kouga, and I'm the leader of the wolf demons... well, what's left of them, anyway."

Ranma stared at his hand. "Wolf demons?"

"Because of Naraku, almost all of my pack was completely wiped out. It'll be me who kills him."

Ranma took his hand and shook it. "I'm Ranma Saotome," he told him. "But if you want to kill Naraku, you'll have to get to him before me. No one steals my fiancé and gets away with it."

Kouga let go of Ranma's hand and looked at him. "Whatever," he said. "But before we go, you have to tell me what you think of dog breath."

"Oh, you mean, Inuyasha? He's a jerk. Why do you think I left?"

Kouga grinned. "Let's go."

* * *

Ranma knew he was fast, but this Kouga guy was unbelievably quick. "Wha-what the hell?" he breathed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I mean, I want to get to Naraku as fast as you do, but... but..."

Kouga turned his head and looked back at Ranma. "Then hurry it up, human!"

Ranma continued to chase after Kouga until they approached a rocky cliff. Kouga stopped abruptly and held out his arms for Ranma to stop as well. Breathing heavily, Ranma stood behind Kouga and waited.

"What... the... hell..." he said again. "Is... something wrong?"

Kouga put his index finger to his lips, and Ranma closed his mouth. Before he knew it, Kouga had grabbed his sleeve and roughly moved him to the edge of the cliff. Ranma's back connected with the jagged rock, and he groaned. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Kouga had moved beside him.

"Don't move, or they'll see you."

"What?"

"Don't move!" Kouga hissed.

It was at that moment that the sound of flapping wings echoed through the mountains. Ranma looked up just in time to see many giant bird-like demons appear over the top of the cliff.

"I would kill them," Kouga whispered. "But we don't have time right now. It's more important that we beat dog-breath to Naraku."

Ranma raised his eyebrow. This guy really did hate Inuyasha.

They watched as the bird demons made their way through the sky. The last one disappeared over the hill, and Ranma stepped away from the cliff. "Now I've seen some pretty weird things..." he started, "but when Inuyasha told me that I didn't know this world, he was right. There's a lot of crazy shit here."

Kouga's eyes suddenly went wide. 'Don't move,' he mouthed.

Ranma froze. The next thing he knew, he was being carried high up into the air. Sharp talons dug into his back and wind flew into his mouth as he tried to scream. They had just reached the top of the cliff when the talons released him, and he went crashing to the dirt. He scurried up to a standing position and watched as three more bird demons backed him up against a large rock.

"Shikon shards," one of the growled. "Tell me where they are."

"Sh-Shikon shards? I don't have any," he swore.

"Don't lie to me," another bird demanded, his green eyes flashing at Ranma. "My brother said you have them in your legs. My brother never lies."

"You idiot!" the first bird shouted. "Your brother said it was a wolf demon who had the shards. Does he look like a wolf demon to you?"

Four pairs of eyes focused in on Ranma. He pressed his bloody back harder into the jagged side of the rock.

"He's a human!" they concluded.

"Toss him over the side," one of them said. "He's of no use to us."

Before Ranma knew it, he was being pushed to the edge of the cliff. He gave a swift kick into the side of one of the birds and knocked another unconscious by throwing a set of punches its way. The three still standing glared at him.

"Stop," one commanded. "We don't have time to fight this human. Besides, can't you see that the wolf demon is watching us?"

The three birds looked over the edge of the cliff.

"We should hold him captive until the wolf comes to rescue him. Then, we'll take the shards from his legs, and eat both wolf and human."

"Good plan!"

Ranma glared at them. Bird demons were obviously not very bright. He kicked them, one at a time, over the cliff and watched as they fell, and then swooped back up to his level.

"How dare you try and trick us!" one yelled. "Unfortunately, for you, you've underestimated us."

Ranma shook his head. "No, I believe it's you who underestimated me." He crossed his arms over his chest and squeezed his fists tightly. "There's no way I'm letting you jerks beat me before I've found Akane!" he screamed, and then pulled back his hands, his palms facing one another. "Fierce Tiger Ball!"

His bright yellow ki exploded from his hands, growing larger and larger until it soared out over the cliff and exploded right when it hit the bird demons. But the blast from the explosion was a little closer than he thought it would be, and it shook the cliff, crumbling the land beneath his feet and sending him toppling over the edge.

Ranma grabbed onto a rock that stuck out from where his feet had once been and hung on for dear life. Now, if only he could pull himself up.

"Human!" a voice came from below. "You okay? That was some explosion!"

"I'm fine!" Ranma yelled back to Kouga. "But... I'm kinda stuck here!" He cringed when he heard the sound of more flapping wings coming up from behind him.

"Don't worry!" Kouga shouted. "I'll take care of them!"

"Great..." Ranma mumbled as a few small rocks fell from beneath his fingers. "Now what?"

A familiar pair of yellow eyes appeared above him. "Looks like you've got yourself in some trouble."

"Go away!" Ranma told him. "I can handle this on my own." Just as he said it, two fingers fell away from the rock he held onto, and dirt hit him in the nose.

"Oh, really?" Inuyasha grinned as if he had won some sort of battle. "Looks to me like you're about to fall."

* * *

**Comments to readers: **

Thank you, everyone, for reading! I appreciate all of your comments!!

Okay, I don't have time to do individual comments right now, so I'll just answer some of the questions that were posed in them. The reason why the rest of the cast is not in the story is because it would get far too long, and there would be too many characters for me to deal with. I would end up getting confused and discouraged with the story, and that's _not_ a good thing. Ryoga and Kouga might meet girl-type Ranma will encounter Miroku, and Kikyo might be in the story near the end, but she will not have a large role. This story is mainly a Ranma/Akane story (if you couldn't tell, lol) so please don't expect major storylines for all of the other characters! (though there will be some Inu/Kag fluff) I've actually been rethinking my decision to reinsert Ryoga into the story, but it's too late now. He might not reappear in the comic, but I'm not sure yet. Also, I really do appreciate all of your suggestions, (and I love when you guys point out typos and stuff) but I'm the one writing this story, and I already know what I want to take place. Please do not suggest major plot changes and/or additions of characters.

Eeep! Sorry if that sounded harsh. I didn't mean for it to be that way, but this is my story. lol... Please continue to make small suggestions, but anything that's a major plot turn, keep in mind that I already have my plot decided, and I'm not going to change it. (unless you're TnM. lol...) Thank you!!!


	13. Chapter 12 Connected

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all of the reviews... even the threatening ones. LOL... I'm not sure if I should be flattered or afraid. Anyway, I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long. I just graduated college and my last semester was a REALLY hard one. I hope to eventually finish this story, but since it's been so long since I've written it, I'm not sure how quickly the chapters will be written from here on out. But I honestly haven't forgotten!

**Lost Time  
Chapter 12 – Connected  
By: Lori Finnegan**

Ranma grabbed onto another small rock with his other hand and tried to pull himself up. "I said I can make it up on my own!" he insisted, looking up at Inuyasha… but he was gone. He tried to wedge his left foot into the side of the cliff, but the rock crumbled, and his fingers slipped away from their hold.

'This is it,' he thought, staring up at the two fingers that still held to the edge.

A hand clapped onto his wrist, and sharp fingernails dug into his skin. Before he could protest, he was being pulled up over the side of the cliff and crawling onto solid ground.

"You asshole!" he yelled at Inuyasha. "I told you I could do it myself!"

"Heh!" Inuyasha said, turning his nose into the air. "You were about to fall!"

"I was just about to swing myself up!" Ranma insisted.

Inuyasha glared over at Ranma. "You pathetic human. You would have died if I didn't help you. You should be bowing to me and thanking me for saving your life."

"Like hell!" Ranma scoffed. "Why should I thank you for helping me when I didn't even need your help? When I asked you to stay the hell away?"

"Say whatever you want to say. The fact of the matter is that you ran away, got yourself into some shit, and then relied on me to save your sorry ass. Don't make it out to be any different than it is."

Ranma stood up and glared down at his ex companion as he squeezed his bloody fists until they stung. "The reason I left was because you don't seem to have your priorities in order. Saving Akane should be number one. Who cares about some stupid shard?"

"Some stupid shard?" Inuyasha echoed in disbelief as he stood up and stepped closer to Ranma. "For your information, your fate relies on what happens to that stupid shard. If Naraku uses the whole Shikon jewel, then you AND Akane will both be dead along with the rest of us."

Suddenly, the world started spinning, and the next thing Ranma knew, Inuyasha had grabbed his collar and lowered him to the ground.

"Dammit," Inuyasha muttered, peeling the folds of torn fabric away from Ranma's back. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Ranma sat, holding his head in his hands. The pain from the cuts in his back had hit him head on. "I'm fine," he said. "I just need to sit here for a second."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm FINE!" he yelled, but just as the words left his lips, another rush of dizziness came. "Ugh."

Inuyasha squatted down next to him. "I need to get you to Kagome. She has a box of special healing stuff."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean a first-aid kit?"

"Whatever," Inuyasha mumbled as he turned around. "Climb on my back. I'll take you down the cliff. Kagome and your stupid friend are down there."

"That moron is not my friend," Ranma glared.

Inuyasha glanced back at him. "What are you waiting for, Ranma? Don't you wanna save Akane?"

Ranma blinked at him. "Of course, I do," he said as he grabbed onto Inuyasha's shirt and pulled himself up.

Five minutes later, Kagome dabbed Ranma's wounds with a damp piece of cloth. "Don't be such a baby, she said as he cringed. "If I don't clean your wounds, they'll only get infected and hurt more."

Ranma gritted his teeth. He felt like a first rate loser. Not only did he fail to think through his plan to go off on his own, but he'd gotten pretty hurt and had to be carried down the cliff… but Inuyasha, no less! He still felt a little light headed, but he was doing better after drinking plenty of water from Kagome's canteen. Once she had him all bandaged up, he carefully put his torn shirt back on. If he was going to find Akane and fight for her safety, he was going to have to be in top shape!

* * *

"Naraku-sama?" Naraku heard Kanna say at the doorway.

"What is it," he demanded, not bothering to turn his head.

"The girl is not well. She's been crying since last night and won't stop. I don't know how to calm her."

Naraku flicked a speck of dirt from beside his futon. "It's just as I feared," he muttered. "She's dying of despair. Place the charm like we discussed. We have no other option. If the girl dies, then so does the shard, and I will never have the completed Shikon jewel."

* * *

Akane sat in the corner of a small bedroom, curled into a tight ball. She had been crying so long that there were no longer any tears to cry. Now, she only hurt. Nothing mattered if she couldn't see Ranma anymore.

Where was Ranma? Shouldn't he have saved her by now? And if he wasn't thinking of her, then what was he thinking of?

"Ranma…" she cried, burying her face between her knees and sobbing dry tears.

At the moment, the door opened and the little girl who held the mirror appeared.

"Look into my mirror," she said, and Akane couldn't help but do so. A small stone the same as the one which hung from her beads materialized in the center of the mirror before floating out and towards her. Painlessly, it plunged within her chest, and made her heart numb. She wasn't sure if she felt better or worse… and then, she blacked out.

* * *

Ranma clenched at his chest in pain. He had been resting alone that evening when his heart suddenly ached like nothing he had ever felt before. After a few moments of intense pain, it became a dull ache, but he still worried. Maybe his wounds had been deeper than he had originally thought.

"Hey," Inuyasha's voice came from behind him. "You okay?"

Ranma turned his head around. The second his eyes met with Inuyasha's, a loud voice echoed between his ears.

"Kill him."

He clamped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. So maybe he didn't particularly care for Inuyasha, but the guy HAD saved his life. Ranma definitely didn't want to kill him. Something odd was going on…

"I… I…" he sputtered, squinting at the other boy. "I heard a strange voice…"

Inuyasha stepped back from him. "What did it say?"

The voice came back. "You'll never find your girlfriend if you let Inuyasha live. He's holding you back. KILL HIM."

Ranma pressed his into his hears. It was coming from within him! But… those weren't his thoughts. He knew that much.

"What did it say?" Inuyasha repeated, this time louder.

"Get away from me!" Ranma yelled at him.

"What? Why? Tell me what the voice is saying!" Inuyasha stepped closer until he was close enough to grab Ranma's arm. He held onto it so tightly that Ranma could feel his sharp nails digging into his skin.

"Do it NOW!" the voice screamed.

"No!" Ranma yelled back, and Inuyasha grabbed his other arm. "It's saying that… that I should kill you," he finally spat out.

Inuyasha continued to stare at him. "What else?"

"That you're holding me back. That I'll never find Akane if I don't kill you now," Ranma cringed under Inuyasha's claws.

"When you were alone, did you run into anyone else besides Kouga and those bird demons?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

Ranma shook his head.

"I have Akane," the voice went on as Ranma sank to the dirt, released from Inuyasha's grasp. "If you listen to me, I'll give her back to you unharmed."

"Don't listen to the voice," Inuyasha advised. "I'm guessing it's Naraku messing with you."

"He's only saying that because he doesn't want to die. He knows that he'll never be able to help you find Akane. Kill him now and get it over with."

Ranma put his hands back over his hears. "Get away from me!" he yelled at Inuyasha. "I have to find Akane on my own! This voice is trying to control me, and I don't want the rest of you to get hurt. Let me take care of this by myself."

"The hell I will!" Inuyasha growled. "I'm getting the entire Shikon jewel whether Akane's involved or not! There are more important things than the life of one measly human!"

Ranma stood up on his feet. Now he really wanted to kill him. "More important things than Akane!" he echoed in disbelief.

"Look, Ranma, or whatever the hell your name is, I know you're in love with her and all, but that doesn't change the fact that you're both insignificant humans who don't even matter. I should have just killed Akane and took her shard when I had the chance. Then none of us would be in this—"

"SIT! You MORON!"

Inuyasha landed face first into the dirt, and Ranma could only stare blankly at the top of his head. He suddenly felt really tired.


End file.
